ImwrBttg of JPtttsburglj
Darlington Memorial Library ffllaBB\.<vO^ -
N&o<^
Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive
in 2010 witli funding from
University of Pittsburgli Library System
littpV/www.arcliive.org/details/notesonstateofvirOOinjeff
Fi'l/lished b\ H.Sp raejue.
NOTES
ON THB
STATE OF VIRGINIA.
WITH AN
Appendix.
By THOMAS JEFFERSON.
■fMMoaBMai
KINTH AMERICAN EDITTOlf.
■•<-<>-.S8>4'<^"<>..>«
BOSTON :
hinted by H. Sprague, No. 44, Marlboro' SUett. 1802.
3^ •Si
CONTENTS.
1. BOUNDARIES of Virginia, - Pa^t $
2. Rivers, - _ - - y
3. Sea-ports, - - - - 23
4. Mountains, - - - 24
5. Cafcades, ----- 28
6. Produiflions mineral, vegetable, and ani-
mal, - 34
7. Climate, - - - - - 104
8. Population, - - - - - 116
9. Military force, - - - - 124
10. Marine force, - - - - 127
11. Aborigines, - - - - 12S
12. Counties and towns, - - - 148
13. Conftitution, - - . - - 150
14. Laws, ----- ijg
15. Colleges, buildings, and roads, - 207
16. Proceedings as to tories, - - 213 '*" 17. Religion, - - - - - 215 '^ 18. Manners, ----- - 222
19. Manufadures, - - - - -225
' 20. Subjedls of commerce, - - - 227
^ 21. Weights, meafures and money, - 232
22. Public revenue and expences, - - 235
23. Hiilories, memorials and ftate-papers, 141 i. Appendix, No. L - - - 279
No. II. - - - 297
No. III. - - 315
■ Relative to the murder of
I Logan's family, - 3 19
ADVERTISEMENT.
X HE following Notes were v/rit- ten in Virginia, in the year 1 7 8 1 , and fome- what corrected and enlarged in the Winter of 1782, in anfwer to Queries propofed to the author, by a foreigner of diflinclion, then refiding among us. The fubjeds are all treated imperfectly ; fome fcarcely touch- ed on. To apolagize for this by develop- ing the circumitances of the time and place of their compofition, would be^-to open wounds which have already bled enough. To thefe circumftances fome of their imper- fections may with truth be afcribed ; the great mafs to the want of information, and want of talents in the writer. He had a few copies printed, which he gave among his friends : and a tranflation of them has been lately pubhilied in France, but with fuch alterations as the laws of the prefs in that country rendered neceifary. They are now offered to the public in their ori- ginal form and language.
Feb, 27, 1787.
QUERY I.
N exadl defcription of the limits and bound- . aries of the ftate of Firglnia P Virginia is bounded on the eaft by the Atlantic ; on the north by a line of latitude, croffing the eaftern fhore through Watkins's pointy bein^^ about 37*" 57, north latitude ; from thence by a llraight Ime to Cinquac, near the mouth of Patowmac ; thence by the Patowmac, which is common to Virginia and Maryland, to the firft fountain of its northern branch ; thence by a meridian line, pafling through that fountain till it interfe(5ts a line running eaft and wed, in latitude 39°. 43'. 42. 4". which divides Maryland from Pennfylvania, and which was marked by Melfrs. Malbn and Dixon ; thence by that line, and a continuation of it weftwardly to the completion of five degrees of longitude from the eaftern boundary of Pennfyl- vania, in the fame latitude, and thence by a meri- dian line to the Ohio : on the Weft by the Ohio and MiiTifippi, to latitude 0,6^, 30' north : and on tlie South by the line of latitude laft mentioned. By admeafurements through nearly the w^hole of this laft line, and fupplying the unmeafured parts from good data, the Atlantic and MiiTifippi are found in this latitude to be 758 miles diftant, equal to 30° 38', of longitude, reckoning 55 miles' and 3144 feet to ths degree. This being our
€ NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
comprehenfion of longitude^ that of our latitude^ taken between this and Mafon and Dixon's line, is 3°. 13'. 42. 4". equal to 223.3 i^iles, fuppofmg a degree of a great circle to be 69 ra. 864 f. as computed by Caffini. Thefe boundaries include: an area fomewhat triangular, of 121,525 fquare miles, whereof 79,650 lie weftward of the Alleg- haney mountains, and 57,034 weftward of the me- ridian of the mouth of the Great Kanliaway. This ftate is therefore one tliird larger than the iflands of Great-Britain and Ireland, which arc reckoned at 88,357 fquare miles.
Thefe limits refult from, i. The ancient char- ters from the crown of England. 2. The grant of Maryland to the lord Baltimore, and the fubfe- quent determinations of the Britiflv court as to the extent of that grant. 3. The grant of Penn- fylvania to VvT'illiam Penn, and a compacfl between, the general affemblies of the commonwealths of Virginia and Pennfylvania as to the extent of that grant. 4. The grant of Carolina, and atflual lo- cation of its northern boundary, by confent of both parties. 5. The treaty of Paris of 1763. 6. The confirmation of the charters of the neigh- boring ftates by the convention of Virginia at the time of conftituting their commonwealth. 7. The ceffion made by Firginia to Congrefs of all the lands to which they had title on the north fide. o£ the Ohio..
QUERY IL
A NOTICE of Its rivers, rivulets, and how far they are navigable ?
An infpeftlon of a map of Virgmtat will give a l)etter idea of the geography of Its rivers, than any defcription in writing. Their navigation may be Imperfe<5tly noted.
Roanoke, fo far as it lies within this ftate, is no where navigable, but for canoes, or light batteaux ; and, even for thefe, in fuch detached parcels as to have prevented the Inhabitants from availing them- felves of It at all.
James Rher, and its waten, afford navigation as follows :
The whole of Elizabeth River, the lowed of thofe which nm into James, River, is a harbor, and would contain upwards of 300 Ihlps. The channel Is from 15© to 300 fathoms wide, and at common flood tide, affords 1 8 feet water to Nor- folk. The Strafford, a 60 gun fhip, went there, lightening herfelf to crofs the bar at SowelPs Point. The Fier Rodrigue, pierced for 64 guns, and carrying 50, went there without lightening. Craney illand, at the mouth of this river conir mands Its channel toUerably well.
Nanfemond River is navigable to ileepy hole, for veffels of 250 tons ; to Suffolk, for thofe of loa tons ; and to Milner's for thofe of 25.
Pagan creek affords 8 or 10 feet water to Smitk- St\d, which admits veffels of 20 tons»
% NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Chichahom'iny has at its mouth a bar, on which IS only 1 2 feet water at common flood tide. VeA fels paffing that may go 8 miles up the river ; thofe of lo feet draught may go four miles fur- ther, and thofe of fix tons burthen, 20 miles furher. Appamattox may be navigated as far as Broad- ways, by any vefTel which has croffed Harrifon's bar in James' River ; It keeps 8 or 10 feet water a mile or two higher up to Fifher's bar, and 4 feet on that and upwards to Peterfburgh, where all navigation ceafes.
James' River itfelf affords harbor for vefiels of any fize in Hampton road, but not in fafety through the whole winter ; and there is navigable water for them as far as Mulberry ifland. A 40 gun fhip goes to James' town, and, lightening her- felf, may pafs to Harrifon's bar, on which there is only 15 feet water. VefTels of 250 tons may go to Warwick ; thofe of 125 go to Rocket's, a mile be- low Richmond ; from thence is about 7 feet water to Richmond ; and about the centre of the town, four feet and a half, where the navigation is inter- rupted by falls, which in a courfe of fix miles, de- fcend about 80 feet perpeadicular : above thefe it is refumed in canoes, and batteaux, and profecut- ed fafely and advantageoufly within 10 miles of the Blue Ridge ; and even through the Blue Ridge a ton weight has been brought : and the expence would not be great, w^hen compared with its ob- je(5t, to open a tolerable navigation up Jackfon's river and Carpenter's Creek, to within 25 miles ' of Howard's Creek of Green Briar, both of which ' have then water enough to float veflels into the ■ Great Kanliaway. In ibme future Hate of
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. ^
population, I think it pofTible, that its na^ngation may alfo be made to interlock with that of the Patowmac, and through that to communicate by a fhort portage with the Ohio. It is to be noted, that this river is called in the maps Ja7nes River y only to its confluence with the Rivanna : thence to the Blue Ridge it is called the Fluvanna : and thence to its fource, Jackfon's River. But in com- mon fpeech, it is called James River to its fource.
The Rivanna^ a branch of James River, is nav- igable for canoes and batteaux to its interfedlon with the South Weft Mountains, which is about 2 2 miles ; and may eafily be opened to navigation through thefe mountains to its fork above Char- lottefville.
Tork River y at York town, affords the be ft har- bour in the ftate for veffels of the largeft fizc. The river there narrows to the width of a mile, and is contained within very high banks, clofe un- der which the veffeLs may ride. It holds 4 fath- om water at high tide for 25 miles above York to the mouth of Poropotank, where the river is a a mile and a half wide, and the channel only 75 fathom, and pafTmg under a high bank. At the confluence of Pamunkey and MaUapony\ it is re- duced to 3 fathom depth, which continues up Pamunkey to Cumberland, where the width is ico yards, and up Mattapony to within two miles of Frazer's ferry, where it becomes 2\ fathom deep, and holds that about five miles. Pamunkey is then capable of navigation for loaded fiats to Brockman's bridge, fifty miles above Hannover town, and Mattapony to Downer's bridge, 7® miles above its mouth. B
to NOTES ON VIRGiNiA.
PiarJ:atanh, the little rivers making out of Mchjack Bay and tliofe of the Eajlern JJmre., re- ceive only very fmall vefTels, and thefe can but enter them.
Rappahannrich affords 4 fathom water to Hcbb's hole, and 2 fathom from thence to Fredericklburg;
Patoivmac is 7^ miles wide at the mouth ; 4I at Nomiony bay ; 3 at Aquia ; i-| at Halooing point; 1 4 at Alexandria. Its foundings are, 7 fatliom at the mouth ; 5 at St. George's ifland j 4I at Lower Matchodlc ; 3 at Sv/an's point, and thence up to Alexandria ; thence 10 feet water to the falls, v/hich are 13 miles above AlexaAdria. Thefe falls are 1 5 miles in length, and of very- great defcent, and the navigation above them for batteaux and canoes, is fo much Interrupted as to be little ufed. It is, however, ufed in a fm.all de- gree up the Cohongoronta brancli as far as Fort Cumberland, which was at the miouth of Wills's creek ; and isndcapable, at no great expenfe, of be-
ing rendered '^ry pra.61:icable. The Shenandoah branch, interlocks with James*riyer about the Blue Ridge, and may perhaps in future be opened.
The M'lffiftppi will be one of the principal chan- nels of future com^merce for the country weftward of the Alleghaney. From the m.outh of this rivet to where it receives the Ohio, is icoo miles by water, but only 500 by land, paffing through the Chickafaw country. P'rom the mouth of the Ohio to that of the Miflouri, is 230 miles by water, and 14c by land. From thence to the mouth of the Illinciis river, is about 25 miles. The MifTilippi, belov/ the mouth of tlie Miirouri, Is always mud- dy and abounding with find bars;, v,'hich frequent- ly change their places. However, it curries 15
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. n
feet water to the mouth of the Ohio, to which place it is from one and a half to two miles wide, and thence to Kafliaikia from one mile to a mile and a quarter wide. Its current is fo rapid, that it never can be flemmed by the force of the wind alone, acting on fails. Any veffel, however, nav- igated v/ith oars, may come up at any time, and receive much aid from the wind. A batteau paf- fes from the m.outh of Ohio to the mouth of JMif- fifippi in three weeks, and is from two to three months getting up again. During its floods, which are periodical as thofe of the Nile, the larg- cft veiTeis may pafs down it, if their fteerage can be infured. Thefe floods begin in April, and the river returns into its banks early in Auguft. The inundation extends further on the weiiern than eadern fide, covering the lands in fome places for 50 miles from its banks. Above the mouth ot the Millburi, it becomes much fuch a river as the Ohio, like it clear, and gentle in its , current, not quite fo wide, the period of its floods nearly the lam.e, but not rifmg to fo great a height. The ftreets of the village at Cohoes are not more than 1,0 feet above the ordinary level of the water, and yet were never overflowed. Its bed deepens eve- ry year. Cohoes, in the memory of many people now living, was infulated by every flood of the river. What was the eaftern channel has now be- come a lake, 9 miles in length and one in width, into which the river at this day never flows. This river yields turtle of a peculiar kind, perch, trout, gar, pike, mullets, herrings, carp, fpatula-filli of 5olb, weight, cat-fiili of loolb. weight, buifalo- afn, and fturgeon. Aligators or crocodiles have l)eea-feen as Ugh up as tae Acanfas, Jt alio a-
if NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
bounds in herons, cranes, ducks, brants, geefe, and fwans. Its pafTage is commanded by a fort eftab- liflied by this ftate, five miles below the mouth of the Ohio, and ten miles above the Carolina boun- dary. The Miflcuri, imce the treaty of Paris, the Illinois and northern branches of the Ohio, fmce the ceiTion to Congrefs, are no longer within our limits. Yet having been fo heretofore, and ftill openino^ to us channels of extenfive communica- tion With the weftern and north-weitern country, they (hall be noted in their order.
The Mifoiiri is, in fiift, the principal river, con- tributing^ more to the common ftream than does the Mifiifippi, even after its jundion with the Illi- nois. It is remarkably cold, muddy, and rapid. Its overflowings are confiderable. They happen during the months of June and July. Their com- mencem.ent being {o much later than thofe of the Miffifippi, would induce a belief that the fources of the'lvlilTouri are northward of thofe of the Mif- fifippi, unlefs we fuppofe that the cold increafes^ a- f^mn with the afcent of the land from the Miffifip- pi weftwardly. That this afcent is great, is prov- ed by the rapidity of the river. Six miles above the mouth it is brouglit within the compafs of a quarter of a mile's width : yet the Spanifh mer- chants at Pancore, or St. Louis, fay they go two thoufands miles up it. It heads far waRward of the Rio Norte, or North River. There is, in the villages of Kafkaikia, Cohoes and St. Vin- cennes, no inconfiderabJe quantity of plate, faid to have b^en plundered during the iaft war by the Indians from the churches and private hou es of Santa Fe, on the North River, and brought to thefe villages for iale. From the
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 13
jriouth of Ohio to Santa Fe are forty days journey, or about 1 000 miles. What is the fhorteft dif. tance between the navigable waters of the MiiTouri, and thofe of the North River, or how far this is navigable above Santa Fe, I could never learn. From Santa Fe to its mouth in the Gulph of Mex- ico is about 1200 miles. The road from New- Orleans to Mexico crOiTes this river at the poft of Rio Norte, 800 miles below Santa Fe : and from this poll to New Orleans is about 1 200 miles : thus making 2000 miles between Santa Fe and New Orleans, pafling down the North River, Red River and Miffifippi ; whereas it is 2230 through the Miflburi and Miilifippi. From the fame poft of Rio Norte, pafiing near the mines of La Sierra and Laiguana, which are between the North Riv- er and the river Salina to Sartilla, is 375 miles : and from thence pafhng the mines of Charcas. Zaccatecas and Potofi, to the city of Mexico is 575 miles ; in all, 1550 miles from Santa Fe to the city cf Mexico. From New Orleans to the city of Mexico is about 1950 miles : the roads, af- ter fetting out from the Red River, near Natchi- toches, keeping generally parallel with the coaft, and about two hundred miles from it, till it enters the city of Mexico.
The irinois is a fine river, clear, gentle, and without rapids ; infomuch that it is navigable for batteaux to its fource. From thence is a portage of two miles only to the Chickago, which affords a betteau navigation of 16 miles to its entrance into lake Michigan. The Illinois, about ten miles above its m.outh, is 300 yards wide.
The Kafiafk'm is ico yards wide at its entrance into the MifTifippi; aud preferves that breadth t©
^4
NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
the BuiFalo plains, 70 miles above. So far alio It is navigable for loaded bateaux, and perhaps much, further. It is not rapid.
The Ohio is the moft beautiful river on earth. Its current gentle, waters clear, and bofom fmooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a fmgle in- ftance snly excepted.
It is a -f^ of a mile wide at Fort Pitt :
500 yards at the mouth of the Great Kanliaway :
I Mile and 25 poles at Louifville :
•|- Of a mile on the rapids, three or four miles fcelow Louifville :
\ A mile where the low countiy begins, which is 20 miles above Green River :
i^ At the receipt of the Taniflee : - And a mile wide at the mouth.
Its length, as meafured according to its mean- ders by Capt. Hutchins, is as follows ; • From Fort Pitt.
To Log's Town
i8i
Big Beaver Creek io-| Little Beaver Creek 1 3^ III
2T 1-
3
Yellow Creek Two Creeks Long- Reach En'd Long Reach Mufkingum iJttle Kanhaway Hockhoekino- Great Kanhaway Guiandot Sandy Creek Sicto
i6i
I2t 16
Hi
Little Miami Licking Creek Great Miami Bio; Bones Kentucky Rapids
LovsT Country. Buffalo River Wabalh Big Cave Shawanee River Cherokee MafTac
48J Milii%i
Miles, 8
32i 44t 77t
64t
97t 42i
II
46
Ji88
KOTES ON VIRGINIA. 15
In common winter and fpring tides it affords 15 feet water to Louifville, 10 feet to Le Tarte's rapids, 40 miles -above the mouth of the Great Kan- haway, and a fuSiciency at ail times for light bat- teaux and canoes to Fort Pitt. The rapids are ill latitude 58*^ 8'. The inundations of this river begin about the laft of March, and fubfide in Ju- ly. During thefe a firil; rate man of war may be canied from Louifville to New Orleans, if the fudden turns of the river and the ftrength of its current will admit a fafe fteerage. The rapids at Louifville defcend about 30 feet in a length of a mile and a half. The bed of the river there is a folid rock, and is divided by an ifland into two branches, the fouthern of which is about 200 yards wide, and is dry four months in the year. The bed of the northern branch is worn into chan- nels by the conliant courfe of the water, and attri- tion of the pebble ftones carried on with that, fo as to be pafTable for batteaux, through the greater part of the year. Yet it is thought that the fouth- ern arm m.ay be the moft eafily opened for con- ftant navigation. The rifi; cf the v."aters in thefe rapids does not exceed 10 or 12 feet. A part of this ifland is fo high as to have been never over- flowed, and to command the fettlement at Louif- ville, which is oppofite to it. The fort, how^ever, is fituated at the head of the falls. The ground on the fouth fide rifes very gradually. The Tan- ijfee, Cherokee or Hogohege River is 600 yards wide at its mouth, -| of a mile at the mouth of Holfton, and 200 yards at Chotee, which is 20 miles above Holfton, and 300 miles above the mouth of the Tanifi'ee. This river croiles the fouthern boundary of Virginia, 58 miles from the
i6 NOTES ON VIRGINIA,
Miffifippi. Its current is moderate. It is naviga- ble for loaded boats of any burthen to the Mufcle fhoals, where the river pafTes through the Cum- berland mountain. Thefe Ihoals are 6 or 8 miles long, pafTable downwards for loaded canoes, but not upwards, unlefs there be a fwell in the river. Above thefe the navigation for loaded canoes and batteaux continues to the Long ifland. This riv- er has its inundations alfo. Above the Chickam- ogga towns is a whirlpool called the Sucking-pot, which takes in trunks of trees or boats, and throws them out again half a mile below. It is avoided by keeping very clofe to the bank, on the foutli fide. There are but a few miles portage between a branch of this river and the navigable waters of the river Mobile, which runs into the Gulph of Mexico.
Oumherlandy or Shawanee River, interfe6ts the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina, 67 miles from the Miffifippi, and again 198 miles from the fame river, a little above the entrance of of Obey's River into the Cumberland. Its clear fork crofTes the fame boundary about 300 miles from the Miffifippi. Cumberland is a very gentle ftream, navigable for loaded batteaux 800 miles, without interruption ; then intervene fome rapids of 1 5 miles in length, after which it is again navi- gable 70 miles upwards, which brings you within I o miles of the Cumberland mountains. It is a- bout 120 yards wide through its whole courfe, from the head of its navigation to its mouth.
The Wabafo is a very beautiful river, 400 yards wide at the mouth, and 300 at St. Vincennes* w^hich is a poft 100 miles above the mouth, in a direa line. Within this fpace there are two fmall
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 17
rapids, which give very little obiliTi(5>ion to the navigation. It is 400 yards wide at the mouth, and navigable 30 leagues upwards for canoes and fmall boats. From the mouth of Maple River to that of Eel River is about 80 miles in a direft line, the river continuing navigable, and from one to two hundred yards in width. The Eel River is 150 yards wide, and. affords at all times naviga- tion for periaguas, to within 18 miles of the Mi- ami of the lake. The Wabafh, from, the mouth of Eel River to Little River, a diilance of 50 m.iles diresft, is interrupted with frequent rapids and fhoals, which obftrudt the navigation, except in a fwell. Little River affords navigation during a fwell to within 3 miles of the Miami, which thence affords a fimilar navigation into Lake Erie, I DO miles diftant in a dired line. The Wabaili overflows periodically in correfpondence with the Ohio, and in fome plarces two leagues from its banks.
Greeri River is navigable for loaded batteaux at all times 50 miles upwards ; but it is then inter- rupted by impaffible rapids, above which the navi- gation again commences, and continues good 33 or 40 miles to the mouth of Barren River.
Kentucky River is 90 yards wide at the mouthy and alfo at Boonlborough, 80 miles above. It affords a navigation for loaded batteaux 1 80 miles in a dlre(5t line, in the winter tides.
The Great Miajni of the Ohio, is 200 yards wide at the mouth. At the Piccawee towns, 75 miles above, it is reduced to 30 yards ; it is neverthe- lefs, navigable for loaded canoes 50 miles above thefe towns. The portage from its weftern branch into the Miami of Lake Erie, is 5 miles j that C
L$ NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
from its eaflern branch into Sandulky River, is of 9 miles.
Salt River is at all times navigable for loaded batteaux 70 or 80 miles. It is 80 yards "wide at its mouth, and keeps that width to its fork, 25 miles above.
The Link Miami of the Ohio, is 60 or 70 yards wide at its mouth, 60 miles to its fource, and af- fords no navigation.
The Sioto is 250 yards wide at its mouth, which is in latitude 38^ 22'. and at the Salthck towns, 200 miles above the mouth, it is yet ico yards wide. To thefe towns it is navigable for loaded batteaux, and its eailern branch affords navigation almotl to its fource.
Great Sandy River is about fixtY yards wide, and navigable fixty miles for loaded batteaux.
Guiandot is about the width of the river lad mentioned, biit is more r^id. It may be navi» gated by canoes 60 miles.
The Great Kanhaivay is a river of confiderable note for the fertility of its lands, and ftill niore, as leading towards the head waters of James River. Neverthelefs, it is doubtful whether its great and numerous rapids v/ill admit a navigation, but at an expence to which it will require ages to render its inhabitants equal. The great obftacles begin at what are called the Great Falls, 90 miles above the mouth, below which are only five or fix rapids, and thefe paffable, with fome difficulty, even at low wa- ter. Froni die falls to the mouth of Greenbriar is 100 miles, and thence to the lead mines 120. It is 280 yards wide at its mouth.
Hockhocking is 80 yards wide at its mouth, and yields navigation for loaded batteax to the Prefs- place, 60 miles above its mouth.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. j^
The Liltl'e Kanhaivay is 150 yards wide at the mouth. It yields a navigation of 10 miles only. Perhaps its nortliern branch, called Junius's Creek, %vhich interlocks with the weftern of Mononguhela, may one day admit a fhorter pafiage from the lat- ter into the Ohio.
The Mvju'w^mn is 280 yards wide at its mouth, and 200 yards at the lower Indian towns, 150 mues upwards. It is navigable for fmall batteaux to within one mile of a navigable part of Caya.- hoga River, which runs into Lake Erie.
At Fort Pitt the River Ohio lofes its name, branching into the Monongaheia and Allghaney.
Tlie Monongaheia is 400 yards wide at its i':>rath. From thence is 12 or 15 miles to the anouth of Yohoganey, where it is 300 yards wide. Thence to Rcditone by wat-er is 50 miles, by land •50. Then to the mouth of Cheat River by wa- iter 40 miles, by land 28, the wid:h continuing at 300 yards, and the navigation good for boats. Thence the width is about 200 yards to the Weil- era Fork, 50 miles higher, and the navigation frequently interrupted by rapids, which however with a fwell of two or three feet become very paf- fable for boats. It then adm.its light boats, ex- cept in dry feafons, 6^ miles further to the head of Tygart's Valley, prefenting only fome fmall rapids and falls of one or two feet perpendicular, and ie/rening in its Vv^idth to 20 yards. The Wef- tern Fork is navigable in the winter 10 or 15 miles towards the northern of the Little Kanha- way, and -will admit a eood was:2:on road to it. xlie I ohoganey is tne prmcipal branch of this river. It paifes through the Laurel mountain, about 30 iniles from its mouth; is fo far from 300 £0 150
■V.O NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
yards wide, and the navigation much obftrutfled in dry weather by rapids and fhoals. In its paf- icXgc through the mountain it makes very great falls, admitting no navigation for lo miles to die Turkey Foot. Thence to the Great Croffing, about 20 miles, it is again navigable, except in dry feafons, and at this place is 200 yards wide. 'The fources of this river are divided from thofe of the Patowmac, by the Alleghany mountain. From the falls, where it interfeds the Laurel mountain, to Fort Cumberland, the head of the navigation on the Patowmac, is 40 miles of very mountainous road. Wills's Creek, at the mouth of which was Fort Cumberland, is 30 or 40 yards wide, but affords no navigation as yet. Cheat River, another confiderable branch of the Monon- gahela, is 200 yards wide at its mouth, and 100 yards at the Durdard's fettlement, 50 miles high- er. It is navigable for boats, except in dry fea- fons. The boundary between Virginia and Penn- fj'lvania croffes it about 3 or 4 miles above its mouth.
The AUeghaney River, with a flight fwell, af- fords navigation for light batteaux to Venango, at the m.outh of French Creek, where it is 200 yards wide ; and it is pradlifed even to Le Boeuf, from whence there is a portage of 15 miles to Prefque ifle on Lake Erie.^
The country watered by the Miffifippi and its eaftern branches, conftitutes five-eighths of the United States, two of which five-eighths are occu- pcid by the Ohio and its waters : the refiduary ilreams v/hich run into the Gulph of Mexico, the Atlantic, and the »St. Lawrence, water tlie re- maining three-eighths.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 21
Before we quit the fubje^fl of the weftern wa- ters, we will take a view of their principal con- nexions with the Atlantic. Thefe are three : the Hudfon's River, the Patowmac, and the Miffifip- pi, itfelf. Down the lail will pafs all heavy com- modities. But the navigation through the Guij)h of Mexico is fo dangerous, and that up the Miffi- fippi fo difficult and tedious, that it is thought probable that European merchandize wiil not re- turn through that channel. It is moft likely that flour, timber, and other heavy articles will be floated on rafts, w^hich will themfelves be an arti- cle for fale as well as their loading, the naviga- tors returning by land or in light batteaux. There will therefore be a competition between the Hud- fon and Patowmac rivers for the refidue of the commerce of all the country weflward of Lake Erie, on the waters of the lakes of the Ohio and upper parts of the Miffifippi. To go to New- York, that part of the trade which comes from the lakes or their waters muft firft be brought into Lake Erie. Between Lake Superior and its wa- ters, and Huron, are the rapids of St. Mary, which wiil permit boats to pafs, but not larger vef- fels. Lakes Huron and Michigan afford commu- nication with Lake Erie by veffels of 8 feet draft. That part of the trade which comes from the wa- ters of the Miffifippi muft pafs from them through feme portage into the waters of the lakes. The portage from the Illinois River into a water of Michigan is of one mile only. From the Wabafh,, Miami, Mufkingum, or Alleghaney, are portages into the waters of Lake Erie, of from one to 1 5 miles. When the commodities are brought into, and have pailed through Lake Eric, there is be-
k'2 NOTES ■ OK ^^IPvGINIA;
tX^ecSl tliat and Ontario an interrurt'on by'tlic ^alls ot Niagara, where the portage is or o niUes ; and betvreen Ontario, and the Hudfcn's '!<,•• vcr are portages at the falls of" Onondago, a little a- bove OiVv.'go, of a quarter of a mile ; fro>?i'Wood Creek to the Mohawks River two miles ; ac the little falls of the Mohawks River half a rnile^ and from Schenecflady to Alban}- i6 miles. Befides the increafe of expence occafioned by ficqtient changes of carriage, there is an increafed riilt of pillage produced b}'- Cf>mrQitting merchandize to a greater number of lianas iuccefilvely. The I'.i- to"v\'mac offers itfelf under the following cirtumi Itances* ~ For trade of the lakes and theix wa'jers weltward of Lake Erie, v/hen it ihall have eniier- ed that lake, ic muii: coafi along its fouthern Ihore, on account of the niimbei- and excellence of its har]:)Oui's ; the noithern, though fhortefl^ having few harbours, and thefc miiafe. Having reached Cayahoga, to proceed on to New- York it will have 825 miles and five portages ; whereas it is but 425 miles to Alexandria, its emporium on the Pa- tov/mac, if it turns mto the Cayahoga, and paffes through that, Birbcaver, Ohio, Yohoganey, (or Monongahela and Cheat) and Patowrnac, and there are but two portages ; the iirft of which be- tween. Cayahoga and Beaver may be removed by uaiti'ig the fcurccs of thefe waters, •which are lakes in the neighbourhood of each other, and in a campaign country ; the other from the waters of Ohio to ratowmac will be from 15 to 40 miles, according to the trouble which fhall be taken to apprO'jch the two navigations. For the trade of the Ohio, or that which fnall conie i-.):o it ironl its own waters or the Miillfippi, it is liv^aitv through'
NOTES ON VIR.GINIA. 23
tlic Patowmac to Alexandria, than to New- York by 580 miles, and it is interrupted by one pcrtaga only. There is another circumftance of -diiFerence too. The lakes themfelves never freeze, but the communications between tliem freeze, and the Hudfon's River is itfelf fnut up by the ice three months in the year ; whereas the channel to the Chefapeak leads . direclly into a warmer climate. The fouthern parts of it very rarely freeze at all and whenever the northern do, it is fo near the fources of the rivers, that the frequent floods to which they are there liable, break up the ice im- mediately, fo that veffels may pafs throufyh the whole v/inter, fubje^ only to accidental and ihort delays. ^ Add to all this, that in cafe of a war with our neighbours, the Anglo-Americans or the In- dians, the route to New-York' becomes a frontier through almoft its whole length, and all com- merce through it ceafes from that moment. But the channel to New- York is already kno\ra to pradlice ; whereas the upper w^aters of the Ohia and the Patowmac, and the great falls of the lat- ter are yet to be cleared of their fixed 6briruc- tions. (A.)
qUEARY IIL
NOTICE of the bed Sea Ports of the ftate, Jr\. and how big are the veffels they can re- ceive r
24 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Having no ports but our rivers and creeks, this ^eary has been anfwered under the preceding one.
QUEARY IV.
NOTICE of its Mountains P
A
For the particular geography of our mountains I muft refer to Fry and Jefevfon's map of Vir- ginia ; and to Evan's analy fis of his ^ map of A- merica, for a more philofophical view of them than is to be found in any other work. It is v/or- thy notice, that our mountains are not folitary and fcattered confufedly over the face of the country ; but that they commence at about 150 miles from the fea-coaft, are difpofed in ridges one behind another, running nearly parallel with the fea-coaft, though rather approaching as they advance north- eaftwardly. To the fouth-weft, as the traft of country between the fea-coafl and the Miffifippi becomes narrower, the mouniains converge mto a fmgle ridge, which, as it approaches theGulphof Mexico, fubfides into plain country, and gives rife to fome of the waters of that Gulph, and particu- larly to a river called the Apalachicola, probably from the Apalachles, an Indian nation formerly refiding on it. Hence the mountains giving rife to the river, and feen from its various parts, were called the. Apalachiau mountains, being in fa^ the
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 25
end or termination only of the great ridges paf- ilng through the continent. European geogra- phers however extended the name northwardly as far as the mountains extended ; feme giving it, after their feparation into different ridges, to the Blue ridge, others to the North mountain, others to the Alleghaney, others to the Laurel ridge, as may be feen in their different maps. But the fad I believe is, that none of thefe ridges welre ever known by that name to the inhabitants, either na- tive or emigrant, but as they faw them fo called in European maps. In the fame direciion gener- ally are the veins of lime-lione, coal, and other minerals hitherto difcovered : and fo range the falls of our great rivers. But the couiies of the great rivers are at right angles with thefe. James and Patowmac penetrate through all the ridges of mxountains eaftward of the Alleghaney ; that is broken by no v/ater courfe. It is in fad: the fpine of the country between the Atlantic on one fide, and the Miffifippi and St. Lawrence on the! other. The paflage of the Patowmac through the Blue ridge is perhaps one of the mod ftupen- dous fcenes in nature. You Pcand on a very high point of land. On your right comes up the She- nandoah, having ranged along the foot of the mountain an hundred miles to feek a vent. On your left approaches the Patowmac, in quell of a paflage alfo. In the mioment of their junction they rufh together againft the mountain, rend it afunder, and pafs off to the fea. The firft glance of this fcene hurries our fenfes into the opinion^ that this earth has been created in time, that the mountains were formed firft, that the rivers began ;to iiow afterwards, that in this place particularly D
26 NOTES ON VIRGINIA. '
they have been dammed up by the Blue ridge of mountains, and have formed an ocean which fil- led the whole valley ; tliat continuing to rife they have at length broken over at this foot, and have torn the mountain down from its fummit to its bafe. The piles of rock on each hand, but parti- cularly on the Shenandoah, the evident marks of their difrupture and avulfion form their beds by the mod powerful agents of nature, corroborate the im^preifion. But the diftant finifning which nature has given to the pidure, is of a very differ- ent chara6ler. It is a true contrail to the fore- ground. It is as placid and delightful, as that is wald and tremendous. For the mountain being cloven afunder, ihe prefents to your eye, through the cleft, a fmall catch of fmooth blue horizon, at ■ an infinite diflance in the plain country, inviting you as it were, from the riot and tumult roaring around, to pafs through the breach and participate of the calm below. Here the eye ultimately com- pofes itfelf ; and that way too the road happens adually to lead. You crofs the Patowmac above the junction, pafs along its fide through the bafe of the mountain for three miles, its terrible preci- pices hanging in fragments over you, and withni about 2oVules reach Fredericktown, and the fine country round that. This fcene is vrorth a voy- ag:e acrois the Atlantic. Yet here, as in the neighbourhood of the Natural Bridge, are people who have paifed their lives within half a dozen miles, and have never been to furvey thefe monu- ments of a war between rivers and m.ountains, vrhich mufe have ihaken the earth itfelf to its centre. (B.)
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 2^
- The height of our mountains has not yet been cftlmated with any degree of exactnefs. The Al~ leghaney being the great ridge which divides the waters of the Atlantic from thofe of the Mlffifip- pi, its fummit is doubtlefs more elevated above the ocean than that of any other mountain. But its relative height, compared vrith the bafe on which it ftands, is not fo great as that of fome others, the country rifinp- behind the fuccellive ridges like the ilcps of (lairs. The mountains of the Blue ridge, and of thefe the Peaks of Otter are thought to be of a greater height, meafured from their bafe, than any others in our country, and perhaps in North America. From data, which may found a tolerable conjc6lure, we fuppofe the higheft peak to be about 4000 feet perpendicular, which is not a fifth part of the height of the m,ountains of South America, nor one third of the helglit which would be necellary in our latitude to pre- ferve ice in the open air unmelted through the year. The ridge of mountains next beyond the Blue ridge, called by us the North mountain, is of the greateft extent ; for which reafon they were named by the Indians tlie Endlefs mountains.
A fubftance, fuppofed to be pumice, found ■floating on the Mlffifippi, has induced a conjecture, that there is a volcano on fom,e of its v/aters : and as thefe are moilly known to their fources, except the MilTourl, cur expectations of verifying the conjecture would of courfe be led to the moun- tains which divide the waters of the Mexican Gulph from thofe of the South Sea ; but no vol- cano having ever yet been known at fuch a dlf- tance from the fea, we muft rather fuppofe that this floating fubftance has-been erroneonfly deem- ed pumice.
jjMnaaaumauMJij^iui'^nuMS'mma^jmiasi
QUERY V,
TS Cafcades and Caverns ?
The only remarkable Cafcade in tliis country,, \ is that of the Falling Spring in Augiifta. It is a water of James' River, where it is called Jack- Ibn's River, rifing in the w^arm fpring mountains, about twenty miles fouth weft of the warm fpring, and flowing into that valley. About three quar- ters of a mile from its fource, it falls over a rock 200 feet into the valley below. The Iheet of wa- ter is broken in its breadth by the rock in two or three places, but not at all in its height. Between the fheet and rock, at the bottom, you may walk acrofs dry. This cataract will bear no com.pari- foii with that of Niagara, as to the quantity of water compofmg it ; the Iheet being only 12 or 15 feet wide above, and fomcwhat more ipread be- low ; but it is half as high again, the latter being only 156 feet, according to the menfuration made by order of M. Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada, and 130 according to a more recent account.
in the lime-ftone country, there are many ca- verns of very confiderable extent. The moft not- ed is called Madifon's Cave, and Is on the nortli iide of the Blue ridge, near the interfe<5}:ion of the Rockingham and Augufta line with the fouth fork of the fouthern river of Shenandoah. It is m. a hill of about 200- feet perpendicular height.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 25
the afcent of which, on one fide, is fo fteep, that you may pitch a bifcuit from its fummit into the river which waihes its bafe. The entrace of tlie cave is, in this fide, about two thirds of the way up. It extends into the earth about 300 feet, branch- mg into fubordinate caverns, fometimes afcending a httle, but more generally defcending, and at length terminates, in tw^o different places, at ba- fons of water of unknown extent, and which I fhould judge to be nearly on a level with the wa- ter of the river ; however, I do not think they are formed by refluent water from that, becaufe they are never turbid ; becaufe they do net rife and fall in correfpondence with that in times of flood, or of drought ; and becaufe the water is always cool. It is probably one of the many refervoirs with which the interior parts of the earth are fup- pofed to abound, and w^hich yield fupplies to the fountains of water, didinguiflied from others only by its being acceflible. The vault of this cave is of fohd lime-ftone, from 20 to 40 or 50 feet high, through which water is continually percolating. This, trickling down the fides of the cave, has in- crufted them over in the form of elegant drapery ; and dripping from the top of the vault generates on that, and on the bafe below, ftaladites of a conical form, fome of -which have met, and form- ed mafllve columns.
5©
NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
•J5
►<5
Is.
*:^
«<5
5^
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 51
Another of thefe caves Is near the North moun- tahi, m the county of Frederick, on the lands of Mr. Zane. The entrance hito this is on the top of an extenfive ridge. You defcend 30 or 40 feet, as into a well, from whence the cave then extends, nearly hori/.ontally, 400 feet into the earth, preferving a breadth of from 20 to 50 feet, and a height of from 5 to 12 feet. After enter- ing this cave a few feet, the mercury, which in the open air was at 50'* rofe to 57*^ of Farenheit's thermometre, anfwering to 11^ of Reaumur's, and it continued at that to the remoteft parts of the cave. The uniform temperature of the cel- lars of the obfervatory of Paiis, which are 90 feet deep, and of all fubterraneous cavities of any depth, where no chymical agents may be fiippof- ed to produce a faftitious heat, has been found to be 10*^ of Reaumur, equal to 54^^ 30' of Farenheit. The temperature of the cave above mentioned fo nearly correfponds with this, that the' difference may be afcribed to a diiference of inftruments.
At the Panther gap, in the ridge which divides the waters of the Cow and Calf pafture, is Vv'hat is called the Blowing cave. It is in the fide of a hill, is of about 100 feet diameter, and emits con- ftantly a current of air, of fuch force, as to keep the Vv^eeds proftrate to the diftance of twenty yards before it. This current is ftrongefl: in dry, frofty weather, and in long fpells of rain weakeft. Re- gular infpirations and expirations of air, by cav- erns and filfures, have been probably enough ac- counted for, by fuppofmg them combined with intermitting fountains ; as they muil of courfe in- hale air while their refervoirs are emptying them- felvesj and again emit it while tliey are filling.
52 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
But a conftant iffue of air, only varying in its force as the weather is dryer or damper, will re- quire a new hypothecs. There is another blow- ing cave in the Cumberland mountain, about a mile from where it crofTes the Carolina line. All we knov; of this is, that it is not conftant, and that a fountain of water iffues from it.
The Natural Bridge, the moft fubhme of na- ture's works, though not comprehended under the prefent head, mud not be pretermitted. It is on the afcent of a hill, which feems to have been ■cloven through its length by fome great convul- fion. The filfure, juft at the bridge, is, by fome admeafurements, 270 feet deep, by others only 205." It is about 45 feet wide at the bottom, and -90 feet at the top ; this of courfe determines the length of the bridge, and its height from the wa- ter. Its breadth in the middle, is about 60 feet, but more at the ends, and the thicknefs of the mafs, at the fummit of the arch, about 40 feet. A part of this thicknefs is conftituted by a coat of earth, which gives growth to many large trees. The refidue, with the hill on both fides, is one folid rock of lime-ftone. The arch appoaches the femi-elliptical form ; but the larger axis of the ellipfis, which would be the chord of the arch, is many times longer than the tranfverfe. Though the fides of this bridge are provided in fome parts with a parapet of fixed rocks, yet few men have the refolution to walk to them, and look over into the abyfs. You involuntarily fall upon your hands and feet, creep to the parapet, _ and peep o- ver it. Looking down from this height about a minute, gave me a violent head -ache. If the •'Yiev/ from the top be painful and intolerable, that
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 33
from below is delightful in ?.n equal extreme. It is impoflible for the emotions arifmg from thefublime, to be felt beyond what they are here : fo beau- tiful an arch, fo elevated, Co light, and fpringing as it were up to heaven ! the rapture of the fpec- tator is really indefcribable ! The filfure continu- ing narrow, deep, and ftreight, for a confiderable diilance above and below the bridge, opens a fliort but very pleafmg view of the North mountain on one fide, and Blue ridge on the other, at the dif- tance each of them of about live miles. This bridge is in the county of Rockbridge, to which it has given name, and affords a public and commo- dious paffage over a valley, which cannot be crof- fed elfewhere for a confiderable diftance. The ftream paffing under it is called Cedar creek. It is a water of James's River, and fufficient in the dryeft feafons to turn a griil-mill, though its foun- tain is not more than two miles above.*
* Don Ulloa mentions a break, fim'dar to this. In the province of Angare%, in South America. It is from 16 to 2 2 feet ivide, 1 1 1 feet deep, and of i. ^ miles con- tinuance, EngUJh meafure. lis breadth at top is not fenftbly greater than at bottom. But' the folloiving fad. is rew.arhahle, and will furnijh fame U^t for conjeBur- ing the probable origin of our natu rah bridge. *• Efla eaxa, 0 cauce efca cortada en pena'^viva con tanta pre- cifion, que las defgualdades del un laclo entr antes, corref pondsn a las del otro lado falientes, como ft aquella altu- rafe hiibiefe abierto exprefamente, con fus bueltas y tor- iuofidades, para dark tranfifo a los aguas por entre loz dos murallones que la forman ; fiendo talfu igualdad, quefi illegafen a juntarfe fe endentarian uno con otro fin deicar hueco,' Not. Jmer. II. § lo, . Don IJUoa in*
QUEP.Y VL
NOTICE of the mines and other fiibterra- ^ neous riches ; its trees, plants, fruits, &c. ^ I knew a fmgle inllance of gold found hi thi^
■ flate. It was interfperfed in fmall fpecks through
dines to the opinion, that this channel, has h'ien efeUeH by the nvearlng of the ivater -zvhich rv.ns through k, ra-
■ ther than that the mountain fiould have been broken open
by any ccnvulfion of nature. But if it had been ivorn
by the running of r^vater, would net the rocks which
form the fides, ha-ve been worn plane ? or if, meeting in
■fome parts with -veins of harder f one, the water had
left prominences on the one fide, would not the fame caufi havefometimes, or iyerhaps gener'ally, occafoned promi- nences on the other fide alfo ? Yet Don UUoa tells lis, that on the other fide there are always correfponding cavities, and that thefe tally with the prominences fa per- fealv,ihal, ^oere the two fides to come together, ihey wovld nt in all their indentures, withmt having any -void. I think that this does not refeihble the eff^B of running water, out looks rather as if the two Jules had parted af under.. The fides of the break, over which , is ihe-ncit-
■ -ufoi' bridge of Virginia, conJyTmg of a veiny rock which fields to hme, the correjpondence between the fdient and, ''j-.interlug inequalities, if it exlfied at all, has now dif- aP^ycarecL -"fbls break has the advantage of the one d^fcrihed by.-Don UUoa in its fnrj circwrf lance ; no portion in iha.t jrjlance having held togrther, during the
:fepara!^on of the other parts, fo as to f.rm a bridge <- over the abyfs.
NOTES-ON VIRGINIA. 55
a liirhn of ore, of about four pouiuis weight, wliich vielded feventeen pemivweie-lit of G'cid, of extraordinary dii-flility. This ore \vas found on the nortli fide of liappiJiannoc, about four miles beiow the falls, I never heard of any other indi- jcation of gold in its neighbourhood.
On the Great Kanhaway, opponte the mouth of Cripple creek, and about twenty five miles from our foutheiTi boundary, in the county of Montgomery, are mines of lead.- The metal is mixed, ibmetimes with eartli, and fometimes with rock, which requires the force of gunpowder to Oj^^n it ; and is accompanied with a portion of filver, too fmall to be worth feparation under any proceis hitherto attempted there. The proportion yielded is from 50 to 8olb. of pure metal from icolb. of walhed ore. The moll: common is that of {Jo to the loclb. The veins are at fometimes mopL flattering ; at others they difapear fuddenly and tot.^ily. They enter the fide of the hill, and proceed horizontally. Tvv^o of them are wrought at prefent by the public, the beft of which is 100 . yards inider the hill. Thefe would employ about 50 labourers to aavanta^'e. We liave not, hovr- cver, more than 30 generally, and thefe cultivate their own corn. They have produced 60 tons o{ lead in the year ; but: the general quantity is from 20 to 25 tons. The prefent furnace is a mile from the ore bank, and on the oppofite fide of the river. The ore is firft wao--a:oned to the river, a quarter of a mile, then laden on board of canoes, and carried acrofs the river, v/hicli is there about 200 yards wide, and then again taken into wag- gons and carried to the furnace. This mode was originally. adopted, that they might avail them-
36 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
felves of a good fituation on a creek, for a pound- ing mill :' but it would be eafy to have the fur- nace and pounding mill on the fame fide of the river, which would yield water, without any dam, by a canal of about half a mile in length. From the furnace the lead is tranfported 130 miles alone- a good road, leading through the peaks of Otter to Lynch's ferry, or Winfton's, on James' River, from whence it is carried by water about the fame diftance to Weftham. This land car- riage may be greatly fhortened, by delivering tlie lead on James' River, above the Blue ridge, from v/hence a ton weight has been brought on two ca- noes. The Great Kanhaway has confiderable fulls in the neidibourhood of the mines. About feYQW miles below are three falls, of three or four feet perpendicular each ; and three miles above is a rapid of three miles continuance, which has been compared in its defcent to the great falls of James' River. Yet it is the opinion, that thej may be laid open for ufeful navigation, fo as to reduce very much the portage between the Kan- haway and James' River.
A valuable lead mine is faid to have been late- ly difcovered in Cumberland, below the mouth of Red River. The greateft, however, known in the weftern country, are on the Tviiffifippi, extending from the mouth of Rock River 1 50 miles upwards. Thcfe are not wrought, the lead ufed in that country being from the banks on the Spanifh fide «f the Miffifippi, oppofite to Kaficailvia.
A mine of copper was once opened in the county of A mherft, on the north fide of James' River, and another in the oppofite country, on the fouth fit!e. iiQ\>ever, either from bad maa-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 57
agement or the poverty of the veins, they were difcontmued. We are told of a rich mine of na- tive copper on the Oubache, below the upper Wiaw.
The mines of iron worked at prefent are Calla- way's, Rofs's, and Ballendine's, on the fouth fide of James's River ; Old's on the north fide, in Al- bemarle ; Miller's in Augufta, and Zane's in Fred- eric. Thefe two laft are in the valley betv/een the Blue ridge and North mountain. Callaway's, Rofs's, Miller's, and Zane's, make about 150 tons of bar iron each, in the year. Rofs' makes alfo about 1600 tons of pig iron annually; Ballen- dine's I coo ; Callaway's, Miller's, and Zane's a- bout 600 each. Befides thefe, a forge of Mr. Hunter's, at Frederickfburg, makes about 300 tons a year of bar iron, from pigs imported from Maryland ; and Taylor's forge on Neapfco of Pa- towmac, works in the fame way, but to what ex- tent I am not informed. The indications of iron ui other places are numerous, and difperfed through all the middle country. The toughnefs of the caft iron of Rofs's and Zane's furnace is very remarkable. Pots and other utenfils, caft thinner than ufual, of this iron, may be fafely thrown into, or out of the waggons in which they are tranfported. Salt-pans made of the fame, and no longer wanted for that purpofe, cannot be broken up, in order to be melted again, unlels previoufiy drilled in many parts.
In the weftern country, we are told of iron mines between the Mufkingum and Ohio ; of oth- ers on Kentucky, between the Cumberland and Barren rivers, between Cumberland and TanifTee, &n Reedy creek, near the Long iiland, and on
33 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Chefnut creek, a branch of the Great Kanhaway, near v/here it crofies the Carolina Hne. What are called the iron banks on the Miillfippi, are believ- ed, -by, a good judge, to have no iron in them. In general, from what is hitherto kno-=Aii of that country, it feems to want ii-on.
Condderable quantities of black lead are taken occauonally for ufe from Winterham, in the coun- ty of Amelia. I am not able, however, to give a particular Rate of the mine. There is no work cftabliilred at it ; thofe who want, going and pro- curing it for themfelves.
The country on James' River, from 15 to 20 miles above Richmond, and for f^^veral miles northward and foutmyard,' is replete with mineral coal of a very excellent quality. Being in the hands of many proprietors, pitts have been open- ed, and,, before the interruption of our ccmm.erce, were y/orked to an extent equal to the demand.
In the v/eftern country' coal is known to be in fo many places, as to have- induced an ophiicn, that the whole tra^l betv.-een the Laurel moun- tains, Miillfippi, and Ohio, yields coal. It is alfo knov/n in many places on the north fide of the Ohio. — The coal at Pittsburg is of very -fuperior quality. A bed of it at that place has been a-fire fmce the year 1765;. Another coal hill on the pike-run of the Monongahela has been a-lire ten years ; yet it has burnt away about tv.'enty yards only.
I have known one inflance of an emerald found in this country. AmethiPcs have been f-equent, and cryPials common ;' yet not in fuch numbers any of them as to be worth feeklng.
There is very good marble, and^n very great abundance, en Jai'nes' River, at the mouth of
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. ^i)
Rockfifh. The famples I have feen, ^vere fome of them of a white as pure as one might expeft to find on the furface of the earth : but moft of them were variegated with red, blue, and purple. None of it has been ever worked. It forms a ve- ry large precipice, v.-hich hangs over a navigable part of the river. It is faid there is marble at Kentucky.
But one vein of lime-ftone Is knov»-n below the Blue ridge. Its firil; appearance, in our country, is in Prince' William, two miles below the pig-nut ridge of mountains ; thence it pafTes on nearly parallel with that, and croiTes the Rivanna about five miles below i^ where it is called the South- Weft ridge. It then crofTss Hard-ware, above the mouth of Hudfon's creek, James River at the mcuth of Rocknfii, at the marble quarry before fpcken of, proba.bly runs up the river to where it appears af>-ain at Rofs's iron-works, and fo pafTes oil fouthweflwardly by Flat creek of Otter river. It is never more than one hundred yards wide. From the Blue ridge v/eftwardly, the whole coun- try feems to be founded on a rock of lime-iloiie, bcfidcs infinite quantities on the fiirface, both loofe and fixed. This is cut into beds, which range, as the mountains and fea-coafl: do, from foutliwefl to north-eaft, the lamiina of each bfd declining from the horizon towards a paralleliihi with the axis of the earth. Being R;ruck with this obferva- tion, I made, with a quadrant, a great number ol trials on the angles of their declination, and found - them to vary from 22'' to 60^ ; but averaging all my trials, the refult was within one third of a de- gree of the elevation of the pole or latitude of the place, and much the greateft part of them taken
4© NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
feparately were little difFerent from that : hj which it appears, that thefe lamina are, in the main parallel with the axis of the earth. In fome Inftances, indeed, I found them perpendicular, and even reclining the other way : but thefe were ex- tremely rare, and always attended with figns of convulfion, or other circumftances of fmgularity, which admitted a pofilbility of removal from their original pofition. Thefe trials were made be- tween Madlfon's cave and the Patowmac. We hear of lime-ftone on tlie Miffifippi and Ohio, and in all the mountainous country between the eail- ern and weftern waters, not on the mountains themfclves, but occupying the vallies between them.
Near the eaUeni foot of the North mountain are immense bodies of Schi/}^ containing impref- fions of fliclls in a variety of forms. I have re- ceived petrified fhelh of very different kinds from the firft fources of the Kentucky, which bear no refemblance to any I have ever feen on the tide- waters. It is faid that ihells are found in the An- des, in South-America, fifteen thoufand feet above the level of the ocean. This is confidered by ma- ny, both of the learned and unlearned, as a proof of an univerfal deluge. To the many confidera- tions oppofmg this opinion, the following may be added. The atmofphere, and all its contents, whether of water, air, or other matters, gravitate to the earth ; that is to fay, they have weight. Experience tells us, that the weight of all thefe to- gether never exceeds that of a column of mercury of 3 1 inches height, which is equal to one of rain- water of 35 feet high. If the whole contents of the atmofphere then were water, inflead of what
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 4r
they are, It would cover the globe but 35 feet deep ; but as thefe waters, as they fell, would run into the feas, the fuperficial mea'fure of which is to that of the dry parts of the globe, as two to one, the feas would be raifed only 52 feet and half above their prefent level, and of courfe would overflow the lands to that height only. In Vir- ginia this would be a very fmall proportion even of the champaign country, the banks of our tide waters being frequently, if not generally of a great- er height. Deluges beyond this extent then, as for inftance, to the North . mountain or to Ken- tucky, feem out of the laws of nature. But with- in it they may have taken place to a greater or lefs degree, in proportion to the combination of natural caufes which may be fuppofed to have produced them. Hiftory renders probable fome inftances of a partial deluge in the country lyino- round the Mediterranean fea. It has been often* fuppofed, and is not unlikely, that that fea was once a lake. While fuch, let us admit an extra- ordinary coUec'lion of the waters of the atmof- phere from, the other parts of the globe to have been difcharged over tliat and the countries whofe waters run into it. Or without fuppofmg it a lake, admit fuch an extraordinary colieftion of the vv-aters of the atmofphere, and an influx of waters from the Atlantic ocean, forced by long continu- ed weftern winds. The lake, or that fea, may thus have been fo raifed as to everflow the low lands adjacent to it, as thofe of Egypt and Armen- ia, which, according to a tradition oftheEo-yp. tians and Hebrews, were overflowed about 2300
* 2. Buffon Epoques, 96.
^2 NOTES ON VIRGINIA:.
years before the Chriftian ^sra ; thofe of Attica, fiiid to have been overflowed in the times of Ogy- ges, about five hundred years later ; and thofc of Theilala, in the time of Deucalian, ftiU 300 years pofterior. But fuch deluges as thef^ will not ac- count for the Ihells found in the higher lands. A fecond opinion has been entertained, which is, that in times anterior to the records either of hif- tory or tradition, the bed of the ocean, the princi- pal refidence of the fhelled tribe, has by fome p-reat convulfion of nature, been heaved to the heights at which we now find Ihells and other re- mains of marine animals. The favorers of this opinion do well to fuppofe the great events on which it refts to have taken place beyond all the ceras of hiitory ; for Vv'ithin thefe, certainly none fuch are to be found ; and we may venture to fay further, that no fact has taken place, either in our own days, or in the thoufands of years recorded in hiftory, which proves the exiftance of any natur- al agents, within or without the bowels of the earth, of force fafhcient to heave, to the height of 15,000 feet, fuch maffes as the Andes. The dif- ference betvN^een the power necelfary to produce fuch an effea, and that w^hich ihuffled together the different parts of Calabria in our days, is fo Lmmenfe, that, from the exifiience of the latter we are not authorized to infer that of the former. •■ M. de Voltaire has fuggefted a third folution of this difficulty (Queft. Encych Coquilles.) He j cites an inftancc in Touraine, where, in the fpace ] of 80 years, a particular fpot of earth had been ^ twice metamorphofed into foft (lone, which had become hard when employed in building. "In this ftone iliells of various kinds were produced.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 4^
difcoverable at firfl only with the microfcope, but afterwards growing with the ftone. From this fai5l, I fuppofe, he wouki have us infer, that be- fides the ufual procefs for generating fhells by the elaboration of earth and water in animal veFels, nature may have provided an equivalent operation, by paihng the fame materials through the porcj of calcareous earths aud ilones : as we fee calcar- eous drop-ftones generating every day by the per- colation of water through lime-ilone, and new marble forming in the quarries from which the old has been taken out ; and it might be afked,. whether it is more difhcult for nature to inoot the calcareous juice into the form of a Ihellj than oth- er juices into the forms of cryftals, plants, animals, according to the conftruclion of the veiiels thrcuf^h w^hich they pafs ? There is a wonder fomev/here. It is greateft on this branch of dilemma ; on that which fuppofes the exiiknce of a power, of which we have no evidence in any other cafe ; or on the firii, which requires us to believe the creation of a body of water and its fubfequent annihilation r The eftablilhment of the inftance, cited by M. de Voltaire, of the growth of Ihells unattached to an- imal bodies, would have been that of his theorv. But he has not eftablilhed it. He has not even left it on ground fo refpe-ftable as to have rendered it an objea of enquiery to the literati of his own country. Abandoning this fad, therefore, the three hypothefes are equally uniatisfaftory ; and we mull be contented to acknowledge, that this great phenomanon is as yet imfolved.^ Ignorance is preferable 10 error ; and he is lefs remiote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who be- lieves what is wrong.
44 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
There is great abundance (more efpecially -svhen you approach the mountains) of (lone, white, blue, brown, &c. fit for the chiffel, good mill-ftone, fuch alfo as ftands the fire, and flate-ftone. We are told o{ flint, fit for gun-flints, on the Meher- rin in Brunfwick, on the Miflifippi between the mouth of the Ohio and Kaflcaflcia, and on others of the weftern waters. Ifmglafs or mica is in {qv- eral places ; loadftone alfo ; and an Afteflos of a ii'Tiieous texture, is fometimes to be met with. ^
^Marle abounds generally. A clay, of which, like the Sturbridge in England, bricks are made, which will refill long the violent action of fire, has been found on Tuckahoe creek of James' River, and no doubt will be found in other places. Chalk is fald to be in Botetourt and Bedford. In the latter county is fome earth believed to be gypfeous. Ochres are found in various parts.
In the lime-ftone country are many caves, the earthly floors of which are impregnated with nitre. On Rich creek, a branch of the great Kanhaway, iibout 60 miles below the lead mines, is a very large one, about 20 yards wide, and entering a hili a quarter or half a mile. The vault is of rock, from 9 to 15 or 20 feet above the floor. A Mr. Lynch, who gives me this account, undertook to extraci: the nitre. Blfides a coat of the fait which had form.ed on the vault and floor, he found the earth highly impregnated to the depth ot fev- en feet in fome places, and generally of three, every biilhel^yielding on an average three pounds of nitre. Mr. Lynch having made about looolb. ot the fait from, it, configned it to fome others, who have fince made io,ooolb. They have done this by purfulng tli^ cave into the hill, nevt-r try-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 45
ing a fecond time the earth they have once ex- haufled, to fee how far or foon it receives another impregnation. At lead fifty of tliefe caves are worked on the Greenbriar. There are many of them known on Ciimberland river.
The country weftv/ard of the AUeghaney a- bounds with fprings of common fait. The mod remarkable we have heard of are at Bullet's lick, the Bigbones, the Blue licks, and on the North fork of Holfton. The area of Bullet's lick, is of many acres. Digging the earth to the depth of three feet, the water begins to boil up, and the deeper you go, and the drier the weather, the llronger is the brine.
A thoufand gallons of water, yield from a bufa- el to a bulhel and a half of fait, which is about 8olb. of water to lib. of fait ; but of fea-water 251b. yield lib. of fait. So that fea-water is more than three times as lirong as that of thefe fprings. A fait fprlng has been lately diicovered at the Tur- key foot on Yohoganey, by which river it Is over- flowed, except at very low water. Its merit is not yet known. Dunning's lick is as alfo yet untried, bnt it is fuppofed to be the beil: on this fide of the Ohio. The fait fprings on the mai-gin of the Onondago lake are faid to give a faline taile to the waters of the lake.
There are feveral medicinal fprings, fome of which are indubitably efficacious, while others feem to owe their reputation as much to fancy and change of air and regimen, as to their real vir- tues. None of them having undergone a chemic- al analyfis in fkillul hands, nor been fo far the fubje6l of obfervations as to have produced a reduc- tion iuto claffes of the diforders which they relievcj
46 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
k Is in my power to give little more than an enu- meration of them.
The mod eScacious of thefe are two fp rings ir. Augufta, near the firft fources of James's River where it is called Jackfon's River. They rife near the foot of the ridge of mountains, generally cal- led the Warm fpring mountains, but in the m.aps Jackfon's mountains. The one is diftinguiihed by the name of the Warmi fpring, and the other of the Hot fpring. The Warm fpring iffues with a very bold ftream, fuSicIent to work a grift mill, and to keep the waters of its bafon, which is 30 feet in diameter, at the vital warmth, viz. g6^ of Farenheit's thermometer. The matter with which thefe waters is allied is very volatile ; its fmell indicates it to be fulphurous, as alfo does the circumftance of its turning filver black. They relieve rheumatlfms. Other complains alfo of ve- ry different natures have been removed or lefTened by them. It rains here four or five days in every week.
The Hot fpring is about fix miles from the Warm, is much fmaller, and has been fo hot as to have boiled an q^^. Some believe iis degree of heat to be lelfened. It raifes the mercury In Far- enheit's tliermometer to 1 1 2 degrees, which is fe- ver heat. It fometimes relieves where the Warm fpring fails. A fountain of common v/ater, Iffu- ing within a few inches of its margin, gives it a fm- gular appearance. Comparing the temperature of thefe with that of the Hot fprings of Kamfchat- ka, of which Krachininnlkow gives an account, the difference is very great, the latter raifmg the mercury to 200*^ which is within 12^ of boiling water. Thefe fprings are very much reforted to
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 47
in fplte of a total want of accommodation for the lick. Their waters are ftrongeft in the hotteft months, which occafions their being vifited in July and Auguft principally.
The fweet fprings are in the county of Botetourt, ■at the eallern foot of the Alleghany, about 42 miles from the Warm fprings. They are ftill lefs known. Having been found to relieve cafes in which the others had been ineffedually tried, it is probable their compofition is different. They are different alfo in their temperature, being as cold as common water : which is not mentioned, howev- er, as a proof of a diftin(5l: impregnation. This is among the firft fonrces of Jam^es' River.
On Patowmac River, in Berkley county, above the North mountain, are medicinal fprings, m.uch more frequented than thofe of Augufta. Their powers, however, are lefs, the waters weakly mine- ralized, and fcarcely warm. They are more vifit- ed, becaufe fituated in a fertile, plentiful, and pop- ulous country, better provided with accomodations, always fafe from the Indians, and neareil to the more populous ftates.
In Louifa county, on the head waters of the South Anna branch of York R.iver, are fprings of fome midicinal virtue. They' are not much ufed however. There is a weak chalybeate at Rich- moi\d ; and many others in various parts of the country, which are of too little worth, or too little note, to be enumerated after thofe before mention- ed.
We are told of a fulphur fpring on Howard's creek of Greenbriar, and another at Boonfborough on Kentucky.
4? NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
In the low grounds of the Great Kanhawaf, feven miles above the mouth of Elk River, and 67 above tliat of the Kanhav/ay itfelf, is a hole in the earth of the capacity of 30 or 40 gallons, from which IfTues conftantly a bituminous vapor, in fo ftrong a current, as to give to the fand about its orifice the motion which it has in a boiling fpring. On prefenting a lighted candle or torch within 1 8 inches of the hole, it flames up in a col- umn of 1 8 inches diameter, and four or five feet height, which fometimes burns out within 20 min- utes, and at other times has been known to con- tinue three days, and then has been fi;ill left burn- ing. The flame is unfteady, of the denfity of that of burning fpirits, and fmells like burning pit-coal. Water fometimes collects in the bafon, which is re- markably cold, and is kept in ebulition by the va- por ifliiing through it. If the vapor be fired in that ftate, the water foon becomes fo warm that the hand cannot bear it, and evaporates wholly in a Ihort time. This, with the circumjacent lands, is the property of his excellency general Wafning- ton and of general Lewis.
There is a fimilar one on Sandy River, the flame of which is a column of about 12 inches di- ameter, and three feet high. General Clarke, who informs me of it, kindled tlie vapor, ftaid about an hour, and left it burning.
The mention of uncommon fprings leads me to that of Syphon fountains. There is one of thefe near the interfedlion of the lord Fairfax's bounda- ry v/ith the North mountain, not far from Brock's gap, on the ftream of which is a grift-mill, whicli grinds two bufhels of grain at every flood of the fpring : another, near the Cow-pafture River, a
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 4^
mile and a half below its confluence with the Bull- pafture River, and 16 or 17 miles from the Hot fprings, which intermits once in every twelve hours : one alfo near the mouth of the Nortli Hol- fton.
After thefe may be mentioned the Natural IVcU, on the lands of Mr. Lewis in Frederic county. It is fomewhat larger than a common well : the wa- ter rifes in it as near the furface of the earth as in the neighboring artificial wells, and is of a depth as yet unknown. It is faid there is a current in it tending fenfibly downwards. If this be true, it probably feeds fome fountain, of which it is the natural refervoir, diftinguifhed from others, like that of Madifon's cave, by being acceflible. It i^ ufed with a bucket and a windlafs as an ordinarj- well.
A complete catalogue of the trees, plants, fruits. Sec. is probably not defired. I will Iketch out thofe which v>^ould principally attract notice, as be- ing I. Medicinal, 2. Efculent, 3. Ornamental, or 4. Ufeful for fabrication ; adding the Linsean to the popular names, as the latter might not convey precife information to a foreigner. I ihall confine- myfelf too to native plants.
I. Senna. Caffia liguftrina.
Arfmart. Polygonum Sagittatum.
Clivers, or goofe-grafs. Galium fpurium.
Lobelia of feveral fpecies.
Palma Chrifti. Ricinus.
(3) James-town weed. Datura StramoniurEU
Mallow. Malva rotundifoha.
Syrian mallow. Hibifcus mofchentos. Hibifcus virginicus.
JEndian mallow. Sida rhombifolia. G
50 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Sid a. abiitilon. Virginia Manhmallow. Napsea hermaphrodita,
Naps^a dioica. Indian phyiic Spiria trlfoliata. Euphorbia Ipecacuanhas. Pleiiriiy roct. Alclepias decumbcns. VirQ:inia fnake-roct. Ariftolochia ferpentaria. iViack inake-root. Adsa racemofa. Seneca rattleinake-root. Polygala Senega. Valerian. Valeriana locufla radiata. Gentiana, Saponaria, Villofa & Centaiirium. Ginfeng. Panax qiiinquefolium. Anprelica. Angelica fylveflris. ■ Caitiiva. Jatroplia urens. 2. Tuckahoe. Licoperdon tuber, jerufalem artichoke. Hclianthus tuberofas. Lcno- potatoes. Convolyulas batatas. Granadillas. Maycocks. Maracocks. PaiTiiiora
incarnata. Panic. Panicum of many fpecies. Indian millet. Holcns laxus.
Helens ftriofiis. Vv^'ild oat. Zizania aqiiaticia. Wild pea. Dolichos of Clayton. Lupine. Lupinus perennis. Vv^ild hop. Humulus liipulus. Vv'ild cherry. Prunus Virginiana. Cherokee plumb. Prunus fylves-'l
tris ft-uctu majori I Clayton.
V7ild plumb. Prunus fylveftris f '
frudu minori. J
Wild crab-apple. . Pyrus caronaria. Red Mulberry. Morus rubra. Pernmmon. Diofpiros Virginiana- Sugar maple. Acer laccharinum.
i
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 5^
Scaly bark hiccory. Juglans alba cortics fqiia- mofo. Clayton.
Common hiccory. Jugkns alba, fraflu minore rencido. Clayton.
Paccan, or Illinois nut. Not defcribed by Lin- naeus, Millar, or Clayton. Were I to ven- ture to defcribe this, fpeaking of the fruit from memory, and of the kaf from plants of two years growth, I llwuld fpecify it as tlie Juglans alba, foliolis lanceolatis, acuminatis, lerratis, tomentofis, fructu minore, ovato, comprefib, vix infculpto, dulci, putamine tenerrimo. It grows on the Illinois, Wabaih, Ohio, and Miflifippi. It is fpoken of by Don Ulloa under the name of Pacancs, in his Noticias Americanas. Entret. 6.
Black walnut. Juglans nigra.
White walnut. Juglans alba.
Chefnut. Fagus caftanea.
Chinquapin. Fagus pumila.
Hazlcnut. Corylus avellana.
Grapes. Vitus. Various kinds though only three defcHbed by Clayton.
Scarlet Strawberries. Fragaria Virginiana of Millar.
Whortleberries. Vaccinium uliginofum.
V/ild goofeberries. Ribes grolfularia.
Cranberries. Vaccinium oxycoccos.
Black rafpberries. E.ubus occidentalism
Blackberries. Rubus frutlcofus.
Dewberries. Rubus cxCliis.
Cloudberries. Rubus Cijamasmorus.
3. Plane-tree. Platanus occidenf<?Jis.
Poplar. Liriodendron tulipifera. Populus heterophylla.
52 NOTES ON VIRGINIA,
Black poplar. Populus nigra.
Afpen. Populus tremula.
Linden, or Lime. Telia Americana.
Red flowering maple. Acer rubrum.
Horfe-chefnut, or buck's-eye. JEfculus pavia*
Catalpa. Bignonia catalpa.
Umbrella. Magnolia tripetala.
Swamp laurel. Magnolia glauca.
Cucumber-tree. Magnolia acuminata.
Portugal bay. Laurus indica.
Red bay. Laurus borbonia.
Dwarf-rofe bay. Rhododendron maximum.
Laurel of the weftern country. Qu. fpecies ?
Wild pimento. Laurus benzoin.
SafTafras. Laurus faffafras.
Locuft. Robinia pfeudo-acacla.
Honey-locuft. Gleditfia. i. P
Dogwood. Cornus florida.
Fringe or fnow-drop tree. Chionanthus Virgi-
nica. Barberry. Berberus vulgaris. Redbud, or Judas-tree. Cercis Canadenfis. Holly. Ilex aquifolium. Cockfpur liawthorn. Crataegus coccinea. Spindle-tree. Euonymus Europseus. Evergreen fpindle-tree. Euonymus America-
nus. Ilea V'Irginica. Elder. Sambucus ni^ra. Papaw. Annona triloba. Candleberry myrtle. Myrica cerifera. Dwarf-laurel. Kalmia an-
Sfuftifolia. f ,, , . . ,
Kalmia ia> called ivy wth us.
r -folia.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 53
Ivy. Hedera quinquefolia.
Trumpet honeyfuckle. Lonicera fempervlrens.
Upright honeyfuckle. Azalea nudiflora.
Yellow jafmine. Bignonia fempervlrens.
Calycanthus floridus.
American aloe. Agave Virginica.
Sumach. Rhus. Qu. fpecies ? •
Poke. Phytolacca decandra.
Long mofs. Tillandlia Ufneoldes.
4. Reed. Arundo phragmitis.
Virginia hemp. Acnida cannablna,
Plax. Linum Virgiaianum.
Black, or pitch pine. Pinus tseda.
White pine. Pinus ftrobus.
Yellow pine. Pinus Virginica.
Spruce pine. Pinus foliis fmgularibus. Clay»
ton. Hemlock fpruce fir. Pinus Canadenfis. Arbor vitas. Thuya occidentalis. Juniper. Juniperus Virginica (called cedar
with us.) Cyprefs. CuprefTus difticha. White cedar. CuprefTus Thyoides. Black oak. Quercus nigra. White oak. Quercus alba. Red oak. Quercus rubra. Willow oak. Quercus phellos. Chefnut oak. Qiiercus prinus. Black jack oak. Quercus aquatica. Clayton, Ground oak. Quercus pumila. Clayton. Live oak. Quercus Virginiana. Millar. Black birch. Betula nigra. White birch. Betula alba. Beach. Fagus fylvatica. Aih, Fraxhius Americana.
54 NOTES ON VIHGINIA.
Fraxinus Novs Aimllx. Millar.
o
Elm. Ulmus Americana.
Willow. Salix. Query fpecies ?
Sweet gum. LIquidambar ftyraciflua.
The following were found in Virginia when firfl vifited by the Engiifn ; but it is not faid whether of fpontaneous growtli, or by cultivation only. Moil probably they were natives of more fouthern climates, and handed along the continent from one nation to another of the favages.
Tobacco. Nicotiana.
Maize. Zea mays.
Round potatoes. Solanuni tuberosum.
Pumkins. Cucurbita pepo.
Clymings. Cucurbita verrucofi.
Squafiies. Cucurbita melopepo.
There is an infinitude of other plants and flow- ers, for an enumeration and Icientitic defcription of which I mull refer to the Flora Virginica of our great botanlR, Dr. Clayton, publiihed by Gronovius at Leyden, in 1762*. This accurate obferver was a native and refident of this Hate, paiTed a long life in exploring and defcrlbing its plants, and is fuppofed to have enlarged the bota- nical catalogue as much as almoft any man who has lived.
Befides thefe plants, which are native, owx farms produce wheat, rye, barley, oats, buck wheat, broom com, and Indian corn. The climate fuits rice well enough, where the lands do. Tobacco, hemp, ilax, and cotton, are flaple commodities. Indigo yields two cuttings. The fiik-worm is a native, and .the mulberry, proper for its food, grows kindly.
VvT'e cultivate alfo potatoes, both the long and
NOTES ON VIPvGINIA. 55
tlie round, turnips, carrots, parfnlps, pumkins, and ground nuts (Aracliis.) Our gralTes are lucerne, ft. foln, burnet, timothy, ray and orchard grafs ; red, white, and yellow clover ; greenfwerd, blue grafs, and crab grafs.
The gardens yield mufk-melons, water-melons, tomatas, okra, pomegranates, figs, and the efcu- lent plants of Europe.
The cnhards produce apples, pears, cherries, quinces, peaches, nediarines, apricots, almonds, and plumbs.
Our quadrupeds have been moflly defcribed by , Linnaeus and Mons. de Buffon. Of thefe the Mam- moth, or big buffalo, as called by the Indians, muft certainly have been the largeil. Their tradition is, that he was carnivorous, and flill exiils in the north- ern parts of America. A delegation of v/arricrs from the Delaware tribe having vifited the gov- ernor of Virginia, during the revolution, on mat- ters of bufmefs, after thefe had been difcuffed and Ifettled in council, the governor ailced them fome queftions relative to their country, and among others, what they knew or had heard of the ani- mal whofe bones were found at the Saltlicks on the Ohio. Their chief fpeaker immediately put himfelf into an attitude of oratory, and with a pomp fliited to what he conceived the elevation of his fubje^fl, informed him that it was a tradition handed down from their fathers, ' That in ancient
* times a herd of thefe tremendous animals came to
* the big-bone licks, and began an univerfal de-
* ftru(ftIon of the "bear, deer, elks, buffaloes, and
* other anim.als which had been created for the vXq
* of the Indians : that the Great Man above, look- f-ing.down and feeing this, v/as fo enraged, that
$6 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
' he feized his hghtning, defcended on the earth,
* feated himfelf on a neighborhig mountain, on a
* rock of which his feat and the print of his feet ' are ilill to be feen, and hurled his bolts among
* them till the whole were flaughtered, except the
* big bull, who prefenting his forehead to the
* fhafts, fhook them off as they fell ; but miffing
* one at length, it wounded him in the fide ; « whereon, fprlngiug round, he bounded over the
* Ohio, over the Wabalh, the Illinois, and finally
* over the great lakes, where he is living at this
* day.' It is well known that on the Ohio, and in many parts of America further north, tufks, grind- ers, and {keleton of unparalleled magnitude, are found in great numbers, fome lying on the fur- face of the earth and fome a little below it. A Mr. Stanley, taken prifoner by the Indians near the mouth of the Taniifee, relates, that, after be- ing transferred through feveral tribes, from one to another, he was at length carried over the moun- tains weft of the Miifouri to a river which runs weftwardly : that thefe bones abounded there ; and that the natives defcribed to him the animal to which they belonged as ftill exifting in the north- ern parts of their country ; from which defcrip- tion he judged it to be an elephant. Bones of the fame kind have been lately found, fome feet below the furface of the earth, in falines opened on the North Holfton, a branch of the Taniffee, about the latitude of 36*^ 30' north. From the accounts publiihed in Europe, I fuppofe it to be decided, that thefe are of the fame kind with thofe found in Siberia. Inftances are mentioned of like ani- mal remains found in the more fouthern climates ©f both hemifpheres j but they are either fo loofe-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 5^
I7 mentioned as to leave a doubt of the fad, fo m> accurately defcribed as not to authorize the claf- fmg them with the great northern bones, or fo rare as to found a fufpicion that they have been carried thither as curiofities frohi more northern regions. So that on the whole there feem to be no certain veftiges of the exiftence of this animal further fouth than the falines laft mentioned. It Is remarkable that the tufks and ikeletons have been afcribed by the liaturalifts of Europe to the elephant, while the grinders have been given to the hippopotamus, or river horfe. Yet it is ac- knowledged, that the tufks and Ikeletons are much larger than thofe of the elephant, and the grinders many times greater than thofe of the hippopotam- us, and eflentially different in form. Wherever thefe grinders are found, there alfo we find the tufks and flieleton; but no fl^eleton of the hippopot- arnus nor grinders of the elephant. It will not be faid that the hippopotamus and the elephant came always to the fame fpot, the former to depofit his grinders, and the latter his tufks and fl^eleton. For what became of the parts not depofited there ? We muft agree then that thefe remains belong to each oth er,that they are of one and the fame animal, that this was not a hippopotamus, becaufe the hippopo- tamus had no tulks nor fuch a frame, and becaufe the grinders differ in their fize as well as in the num- ber and form of their points. That it was not an el- ephant, I think afcertained by proofs equally deci- five, I will not avail my felf of the authority of the cele- brated *anatomJft, who, from an examination of the form and itruaure of the tufl^is, has declared
Hunter.
H
ff NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
they were eirentially diiTerent from tliofe of the elephant : becaiife another * anatomlft, equally celebrated, has declared, on a hke examination, that they are preclfely the fame. Between two fuch authorities I will fuppofe this circumftance equivocal. But, i. The ikeleton of the mam- moth (lor fo the incognitum has been called) be- fpeaks an animal of five or fix times the cubit volume of the elephant, as Mons. de Buiton has admitted. 2. The grinders are five times as large, are fquare, and the grinding furface ftudded with four or five rows of blunt points : whereas thofe of the elephant are broad and thin, and their grind- ing furface flat. 3. I have never heard an in- fiance, and fuppofe there has been none, of the grinder of aa elephant being found in America. 4. From the known temperature and conftitution of the elephant, he could never have exifled in thofe regions where the remains of the mammoth have been found. The elephant is a native only of the torrid zone and its vicinities : if, with the affiftance of warm apartments and warm cloath- ing, he has been preferved in life in the temperate climates of Europe, it has only been for a fmall portion of what would have been his natural peri-, od, and no inilance of his multiplication in them has ever been known. But no bones of the mam- moth, as I have before obferved, have been ever found furtli-er fouth than the falines of the Holfton, and they have been found as far north as the Arc- tic circle. Thofe, therefore, who are of opinion that the elephant and mammoth are the fame, mud believe, i. That the elephant known to us can exift and multiply in the frozen zone ; or, 2.
'^ UAuhcnton,
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 59
That an eternal fire may once have warmed tli.ofe regions, and fnice abandoned them, ofwhich, how- ever, the globe exhibits no unequivocal indications ; or, 3. That the obliquity of the ecliptic, when thefe elephants lived, was fo great as to include within the tropics all thofe regions in which the bones are found : the tropics being, as is before obferved, the natural limits of habitation for the elephant. But if it be admitted that this obliqui- ty has really decreafed, and we adopt the higlietl rate of decreafe yet pretended, tliat is of one min- ute in a century, to transfer the northern tropic to the Arilic circle, Vv^ould carry the the exiftence of thefe fuppofed elephants, 250,000 years back ; a period far beyond our conception of the duration of animal bones left expofed to the open air, as thefe are in m.any inilances. Befides, though thefe regions would then be fuppofed within the tropics, yet their winters would have been too ferere for the fenfibility of the elephant. They would have had too butone day andone night in the year, a cir- ' cumftance to which we have no reafon to fuppofe the nature of the elephant fitted. However, it has been demonftrated, that, if a variation of obliqui- ty in the echptic takes place at all, it is vibratory, and never exceeds the limits of 9 degrees, which is not fulhcient to bring thefe bones within the trop- ics.— One of thefe hypothefifes, or fome other e- qually voluntary and inadmilfible to cautious phi- lofopfophy, mufl: be adopted to fupport the opin- ion that thefe are the bones of the elephant. For my own part, I find it eafier to beUeve that an an- imal may have exifted, refembling the elephant in his tufks, aiixi general anatomy, while his nature was in other refpe<5ls extremely different. From
6o NOTES ON VIRGINIA,
tlie 30t}i degree of foiith latitude to the 30 of north, are nearly the limits which nature has fixed for the exiftence and multiplication of the elephant known to us. Proceeding thence northwardly to 36 30 degrees, we enter thofe affigned to the mammoth. The further we advance north, the more their veftiges multiply as far as the earth has been explored in that dlreftion : and it is as probable as otherwife, that this progreffion con- tinues to the pole itfelf, if land extends fo far. The <:entre of the frozen zone then may be the achme of their vigor, as that of the torrid is of the elephant. Thus nature feems to have drawn a belt of fepa- ration between thefe two trem.endous animals, whofe breadth indeed is not precifely known, though at prefent we may fuppofe it about 6 and half degrees of latitude ; to have aihgned to the elephant the regions fouth of thefe conflnes, and thofe north to the mammoth, founding the conili- tution of the one in her extreme of heat, and that of the other in the extreme of cold. When the Cre- ator has therefore feparated their nature as far as the extent of the fcale of animal life allowed to this planet would permit, it feems perverfe to de- clare it the fame, from a partial refernblance of their tufks and bones. But to whatever anim.al we afcribe thefe rem^ains, it is certain fuch a one has exided in America, and that it has been the largeft of all terreftrial beings. It fliould have fiifiiced to have refcued the earth it inhabited, and the atmofphere it breathed, from the imputation of impotence in the conception and nourilliment of animal life on a large fcale ; to have ftifled, in its birth, the opinion of a v/riter, the mofl learned too •«f all others in tltc fcieucc of animal hiHory, tliat
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 6i
in the new world, * La nature vivante eft beaucoup moins affilTante, beaucoup moins forte :'* that na- ture is lefs adive, lefs energetic on one fide of the globe than fhe is on the other. As if both fides were not warmed by the fame genial fun ; as if a foil of the fame chemical compofition, was lefs ca- pable of elaboration into animal nutriment ; as if the fruits and grains from that foil and fun, yield- ed lefs rich chyle, gave a lefs extenfion to the fol- ids and fluids of die body, or produced fooner in the cartilages, membranes, and fibres, that rigidi- ty which reftrains all further extenfion, and termi- nates animal growth. The truth is, that a pigmy and a Patagonian, a moufe and a mammoth, de- rive their dimenfions from the fame nutritive juic- es. The difference of increment depends on cir- cumftances unfearchable to beings with our capa- cities. Every race of animals fsems to have re- ceived from their Maker certain laws of extenfion at the time of their formation. Their elaborative organs were formed to produce this while proper obfiacles were oppofed to its further progrefs. Be- low thefe limits they cannot fall, nor rife above theiTi. What intermediate ftation they fnall take may depend on foil, on climate, on food, on a careful choice of breeders. But all the manna of heaven would never raife the moufe to the bulk of the mam.moth.
The opinion advanced by the Count de Buffon,f Is, I. That the animals common to both the old and new woi'ld, are fmalier in the latter. 2. That thofe peculiar to the new are on a fmalier fcale. 3- That thofe which have been domefticated in
* Buffon^ xviii. 122 edit. Pans, 1764. f xviii. 100 — 156.
62 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
both have degenerated in America : and 4. That on the whole it exhibits fewer fpecies. And the reafon he thinks is, that the heats of America are lefs, that more waters are fpread over its furface by nature, and fewer of thefe drained off by the h^id of man. In other words, that hsat is friend- ly, and motfiure adverfe to the produftion and de- velopement of large quadrupeds. I will not meet this hypothefis on its firft doubtful ground, wheth- er the climate of America be comparatively more humid ? Becaufe V/e are not furnilhed with obfer- vations fufficient to dicide this queftion. And though, till it be decided, we are as free to deny, as others are to affirm the fa6t, yet for a moment 1st it be fuppofed. The hypothefis, after this fup- pofition, proceeds to another ; that moijiure is un- friendly to animal growth. The truth of this is infcrutable to us by reafonings a priori. Nature has hidden from us her modus agendi. Our on- ly appeal on fuch queftions is to experience ; and I think that experience is againfl the fuppofition. It is by the affiftance of heat and moijlure that veg- etables are elaborated from the elements of earth, air, water, and fire. We accordingly fee the more humid chmates produce the greater quantity of vegetables. Vegetables are mediately or immedi- ately the food of every animal ; and in proportion to the quantity of food, we fee animals not only multiplied in their numbers, but improved in their bulk, as far as the laws of their nature will admit. Of this opinion is the Count de Buffon himfelf in another part of his work ;* *' en general il paroit '*ques les pays un peu/zw/j- conviennent mieux a ♦* nos boeufs que les pays chauds, et quails font Mja ...g ., , rr- —
* viii. 134.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 63
** d'autant plus grofs et plus grands que le climat " eA plus hum'ide et plus abondans en paturages* " Les boeufs de Daneraarck, de la Podolie, de *' r Ukraine et de la Tartaire qu habitent les Cal- ** mouques font les plus grands de tous." Heru then a race of animals, and one of the largeft too, has been increafed in its dimenfions by cold and mo'iftnre, in dired: oppofition to the hypotheiis, which fuppofes that thefe two circumftances di- minilh animal bulk, and that it is their contraries, heat and drynefs which enlarge it. But when we appeal to experience, we are not to reft fatisfied with a fmgle fa<5l. Let us therefore try our quef- tion on more general ground. Let us take two portions of the earth, Europe and America for inftance, fufficiently extenfive to give operation to general caufes ; let us confider the circumftances peculiar to each, and obferve their eff'e<5t on ani- mal nature. America, runnino* throuf^fh the tor- rid as well as temperate zone, has more heat col- led:ively taken, than Europe. But Europe accor- ding to our hypothefis, is the dryejl. They are equally adapted then to animal produAions ; each being endowed with one of thofe caufes which be- friend animal growth, and with one which oppofes it. If it be thought unequal to compare Europe with America, which is fo much larger, I anfwer, not more fo than to compare America with the v/hole world. Befides, the purpofe of the com- parifon is to try an hypothefis, which makes the fize of animals depend on the heat and mo'ijlure of climate. If therefore we take a region, fo exten- five as to comprehend a fenfible deftindion of cli- mate, and fo extenfive too as that local accidents, or the intercourfe of animals on its borders may jiot materially affed the fize cf thofe in its interi-
64 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
or parts, we Hiall ccmply with thofe conditions which the hypothefis may reafonably demand. The objedlion would be the weaker in the prefent cafe, becaufe any intercourfe of animals which may take place on the confines of Europe and Afia, is to the advantage of the former, Afia producing certainly larger animals than Europe. Let us tlien take a comparative view of the quadrupeds of Europe and America, prefenting them to the eye in three different tables, in one of Vv^hich fliall be enumerated thofe found in both countries ; in a fecond, thofe found in one only ; in a third, thofe which have been dom^efticated in both. To facilitate the comparifon, let thofe of each table be arranged in gradation according to their fizes, from the greateft to the fmalleft, fo far as their ] fizes can be conjevTuured. The weights of the large ^ anlmxals fnall be exprelTed in the Englifh avoirdu- poife pound and its decimals ; thofe of the finjiller, , in the fame ounce and its decimals. Thofe which ■ are marked thus,* are adual weights of particular fubje6ls, deemed among the largeft of their fpecies. ' Thofe m^arked thus,-f are furnifned by judicious perfons well acquainted with the fpecies, and fay- ing, from conjeclure only, what the largeft indi- vidual they had feen would probably have weigh- ed. The other weijrhts are taken from Meffrs. ■, BufFon and D'Aubenton, and are of fuch fubjefts a| as came cafually to their hands for diiTeclion. This circumftancemuft be rem.embered where their weights and mine (land oppofed : the latter being ftated, not to produce a conclufion in favor of the ■ I A merican fpecies, but to iuuiiy a fufpenfion of opin- ion until we are better informed, and a fufpicion, in the mean time, that there is no uniform difference j in favor of either ; which is all I pretend.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
A comparative View of the Quadrupeds of -• Europe and of America.
I. Ahoriglnals of both.
3Mammoth Buffalo. Blfbn White bear. Ours blanc Carribou. Reniie Bear. Ours
Elk. El an. Original palmated Red deer. Cerf Fallow deer. Diam Wolf. Loup Roe. Chevreuil Glutton. Glouton. Carcajou Wild cat. Chat fauvage Lynx. Loup cervier Beaver. Caftor Badger. Blaireau Red fox. Renard Grey fox. Ifatis Otter. Loutre " Monax. Marmotte Vifon. Fouine Hedghog. HerrilTon Marten. Marte
Water rat. Rat d'eau Weafel. Beletre Flying fquirrel. Polatouche Shrew moufe. Mufaraigne
Europe. 1 America.
lb.
153-7
288.8
167.8
69.8
56.7
25.
18.5
13.6
•>-:
lb.
*i8co
* J. I o
^n
273
t3» *45
|
8.9 |
tl2 |
|
6.S |
|
|
2.8 |
|
|
2.2 |
|
|
1.9 |
t6 |
|
oz. |
|
|
7-5 |
|
|
2.2 |
oz. |
|
2.2 |
t4 |
|
I. |
66 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
II. Ahonglnah of one only. EUROPE. AMERICA.
|
' |
lb. |
lb. |
|
|
Sangller. Wild boar |
280. |
Tapir |
534- |
|
Mouflon. Wildflieep |
S6. |
Elk, round horned |
+450. |
|
Bouquetiu. Wild goat |
Puma |
||
|
Lievre. Hare |
7.6 |
Jugar |
218. |
|
Lapln. Rabbit |
3-4 |
Cablal |
109. |
|
Putois. Polecat |
3-3 |
Tamanoire |
109. |
|
Genettc. |
3-1 |
Tammandua |
65- |
|
Delmau. Mufkrat |
oz. |
CougarofN. America |
75-4 |
|
Ecureuil. Squirrel |
12. |
Cougar of S.America |
59- |
|
Hermine. Ermin |
8.2 |
Ocelot |
|
|
Rat. Rat. |
7-5 |
Pecari |
46.3 |
|
-r XjOirs. |
3-^ |
Jaguaret |
43-^ |
|
Lerot. Dormoufe |
1.8 |
Alco |
|
|
Taupe. Mole. |
1.2 |
Lama |
|
|
Hamfter. |
•9 |
Paco |
|
|
Ziiel. |
Paca |
32-7 |
|
|
Leming. |
Serval |
||
|
Souris. Moufe |
.6 |
Sloth. Unau |
27.25 |
|
- |
Saricovlenne Klnkajou |
||
|
Tatou KabafTou |
21.8 |
||
|
Urfon. Urchin |
|||
|
Raccoon. Raton |
16.5 |
||
|
Coati |
|||
|
Coendou |
16.3 |
||
|
Sloth. Ai |
13- |
||
|
Sapajou Ouarini |
|||
|
Sapajou Coalta |
9.S |
||
|
Tatou Encubert |
|||
|
Tatou Apar |
|||
|
Tatou Cachica |
T. |
||
|
Little Coendou |
6.5 |
||
|
OpofTum. Sarlgue |
■ |
NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
61
II. Table continued. EUROPE. AMERICA.
Tapeti
Margay
Carbier
Agouti
Sapajou SaV
Tatou Cirquin9on
Tatou Tatouate
MouiFette SquaiH
Mouffette Chinche
MoufFette Conepate
Scunk
Mouffette. Zorilla
Wliabus. Hare.Rabit
Aperea
Akouclii
Odatra. Mufkrat
Pilori
Great grey fquirrel
Foxfquirrel of Virgini
Surikate
Mink
Sapajou. Sajou
Indian pig. Cochond'
Inde Sapajou Saimirl Phlanger Coquallin
LefTer grey fquirrel Black fquirrel ! Red fquirrel Sagoin Saki
lb.
4.2 3-3
Its. 7 12.625 2.
t2.
1.8
1.(5
I.
:>
'I.5
10.0:
^0
NOTES ON VIRGINIA*
|
II. |
Tablj! |
continued. |
|
|
EUROPE. AMERICA. |
|||
|
i Sagoin Pinche i |
|||
|
1 1 |
Sagoin Tamann |
oz. |
|
|
Sagoin Ou-lftiti |
4-4 |
||
|
Sagoin Marakine |
|||
|
i |
Sagoin Mice CayopoUin Fourmiller Marmofe Sarigue of Cajenne |
||
|
Tucan |
|||
|
Red mole |
oz. |
||
|
Ground fpuirrel |
4- |
III. Domefilcaled In loth.
Europe. [America,
Cow
Horle
Ais
Hog
Sheep
Goat
Dog
Cat
|
lb. 1 |
ib. |
|
765- |
*25CO *i366 |
|
*I200 |
|
|
*I25 no |
|
|
67.6 |
|
|
l-l |
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 69
I have not inferted in the firft table the phocaf* nor leather winged bat, becauie the one living half the year in the water, and the other being a winged animal, the individuals of each fpecies may vifit both continents.
Of the animals in the i ft table, Mons. de Buiton himfelf informs us, [XXVII. 130. XXX, 213.3 that the beaver, the otter, and fhrew moufe, though of tlie fame fpecies, are larger in America than Europe. This ihould therefore have correct- ed the generality of his exprelfions XVIII. 145. and elfevrhercj that the anin^nls common to tlie two countries, are confiderabiy lefs in America than in Europe, * & cela fans aucune exceotion.' He tells us too [Quadi-up. VIII. 534. edit. Paris, 1777] that on examining a bear from America, he remarked no difference, 'dans la forme de cet * ours d'Amerique compare a celui d'Europe ;' but adds from Bartran-.'s journai., that an Ameri- can bear weighed 40olb. Englifa, equal to 3671b. French : vv^hereas we f nd the European bear ex- amined by Mons. E'Aubenton, [XVII. 82] weighed but i4ilb. French. That the palmated elk is larger in x"inienca than Europe we are in- formed by Kalm.f a naturalift who vifited the former by public appointment, for thp exprels purpofe of examining the fubjeds of natural hiilo-
* It Is f aid, tJjat this animal is fddom feen aho-oe 30 viilesfrGmJJ:>orey or beyond the ^6th degree of latllude, The interjacent ijlands let'iveen Ajla and Amer'-ca ad- mit his paffing from one continent to the other without exceeding thefe bounds. And in fad, travellers tell lis that thefe ijlands are places of principal refort for themy and efpsclally in the feafon of bringing forth their young* f /. 233. Lon, I'J'JZ*
70 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
ry. In this fa(5t Pennant concurs with him. [Bay- rington's Mifcellanies.] The fame Kalm tells us* that the black moofe,or renne of America is as high as a tall horf^ ; and Cateihy,-!- that it is about the bignefs of a middle-fized ox. The fame account of their fize has been given me by many who have feen them. But Mons. D'Aubenton fays± that the renne of Europe is but about the fize of a red deer. The vv-eafel is larger in America than in Europe, as may be feen by comparing its dimen- iions as reported by Mons. D'Aubenton^ and Kalm. The latter tells us,lj that the lynx, badger, red fox, and flying fqulrrel, are the fame in America as in Europe : by which expreffion I underftand, they are the fame in all material circumftances, in fize as well as others : for if they were fmaller, they would differ from the European. Our grey fox is, by Cateiby's account,«|[ little different in fize and fhape from the European fox. I prefume he means the red fox of Europe, as does Kalm, where he fays,** that in fize * they do not quite come up to our foxes.' For proceeding next to the red fox of America, he fays < they are entirely the fame with the European fort :' which Ihows he had in view one European fort only, which was the red. So that the refult of their teftimony is, that the American grey fox Is fomewhat lefs than the European red ; which is equally true of the grey fox of Europe, as may be feen by comparing the meafures of the Count de Buffon and Mons^ D'Aubenton.f f The white bear of America is as
* Ih. 233. t /. xx-o'il. X XXIV. 162,
§ XV. 42. 11 /. 35f. /. 48. 221. 251. //. 52. % II. 78. ** /. 220.
ft XXVII. 63. XIV. J 19. Harris, IL 387. Biiffon. ^ad. IX, i.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 71
large as that of Europe. The bones of the mam- moth which have been found in America, are as large as thofe found in the old world. It may be afked, why I infert the mammoth, as if it ftill ex- ifted ? I alk in return, why I Ihould omit it, as if it did not exift ? Such is the economy of nature, that no inftance can be produced, of her having- permitted any one race of her animals to become extinct ; of her having formed any link in her great work fo weak as to be broken. To add to this, the traditionary teftimony of the Indians, that this animal ftill exifts in the northern and wefteni parts of America, would be adding the light of a taper to that of the meridian fun. Thofe parts ftill remain in their aboriginal ftate, unexplored and undifturbed by us, or by others for us. He may as well exift there now, as he did formerly where we find his bones. If he be a carnivorous animal, as fome anatomifts have conjeftured, and the Indians affirm, his early retirement may be accounted for from the general deftrudion of the wild game by the Indians, which commences in the firft inftance of their connexion with us, for the purpofe of purchafmg matchcoats, hatchets, and fire -locks, with their fkins. There remain then the buffaloe, red deer, fallow deer, wolf, roe, glutton, wild-cat, monax, vifion, hedgehog, mar- ten, and water rat, of the comparative fizes of which we have not fufficient teftimony. It does not appear that MefTrs. de BufFon and D'Auben- ton have meafured, weighed, or feen thofe of A- merica. It is faid of fome of them, by fome trav- ellers, that they are fmaller than the European. But who were thefe travellers ? Have they not feeen men of a very different defcription from
72 MOTES ON VIRGINIA.
thofe who have laid open to us tlie other three quarters of the world ? Was natural hiftoiy the objea of their travels : Did they naeafare or weigh the animals they fpeak of ? or did they not judge cf them by fight, or perhaps even from report on- ly ? Were they acquainted with the animals of their own country, with which they undertake to compare them ? Have they not been fo ignorant as often to miftake the fpecies ? A true anfwer to thefe queftions w^cuid probably lighten their au- thority, fo as to render it inf-amcieiit for the foun- dation cf an hypothefis. How unripewe yet^are, for an accurate^ comparifon of the animals of the two countries, v/ill appear from the work of Mon- fieur de Buffcn. The ideas we fhould have form- ed of the fizes of fome animals, from the imform- ation he had received at his iirft pubhcations con- cerning them, are very different from what his fubfequent communications give us. And indeed his candor in this can never be too much praifed. One fentence of his book muR do him immortal honor. < J'aime autante une perfcnne qui me re- « leve d'une erreur, qu'une autre qui m'apprend « une verite, parce qu'en etTefi: une erreur corrigee , ' elt une verite.'* lie feems to have thought the cabiai he firft examined wanted little of its full o-rowth. * II ne'etoit pas encore tout-a-fait adul- te.'t Yet he weighed^ but 46 and half Ib.^ and he ' found afterwards,! that thefe animals w^hen full i^rown, weighed 'loolb. He had fuppofed from the exarainauon of a jaugar,!! laid to be two years old, which vv^eighcd but i6lb. I20z. that when he ihould have acquired his full growth, he would
* ^ad. IX. 158. t ^^^^''^' iS4'
X ^aclIX. 132. il XIX, 2.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 75
not be larp-er than a middle fized doer. But a fubfeqiient account* raifes nis weight to 2001b. Further information, -will doubtlefs, produce fur- ther correftions. The wonder is, not that there is yet fomething in this great work to corrcfl, but that there is fo little. The refult of this view then is, that of 26 quadrupeds common to both countries, 7 are faid to be larger in America, 7 of equal fize, and 12 not fufiiciently examined- So that the firft table impeaches the hril member of the aifertion, that of the animals common to both countries, the American arc fmallefl:, * et ce- la fans aucnne exception.' It Ihows it not juft, in all the latitude in which its author has advanced it, and probably not to fuch a degree as to found a dillinclion between the two countries.
Proceeding to the fecond table, which arranges the animals found in one of the two countries only, Mons. de BufFon obferves, that the tapir, the ele- phant of America, is but of the fize of a fmall cow. To preferve our comparifon, I will add, that the wild boar, the elephant of Europe, is lit- tle more than half that fize. I have made an elk with round or cylindrical horns an animal of A- merica, and peculiar to it i becaufe I have fe^n many of them myfelf, and more of their horns : and becaufe I can fay, from the bed infcrmatiouj that in Virginia, this kind of elk has abounded much, and flill exifls in fmaller numbers ;■ and I could never learn that the palmated kind had been feen here at all. I fuppofe this conlined to the more northern latitudes.f I have made our
* ^iad. IX. 41. f The defcnpt'ion of Thsoclai, Denys and La HcU'. K
-74 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
hare or rabbit peculiar, believing it to be different irom both the European animals of tliofe denomi-
tori) cited by Mans, de Buffon^ under the article of Elan y cnithori%e thefuppofition, that ibe Jlat-horned elh is found in the northern parts of America. It has not honvever extended to our latitudes. On the other handy I could never learn that the round-horned elh has been feen further north than the Hudfon\s River. This agrees ^'ith th'? former elk in its general character, being, like that, nvhcn compared nvith a deer, very much larger, its ears longer^ broader, and thicker in proportion, its hair much longer., reck and tailfloorter, having a deivlap before the breajl i^caruncuJa gutturalis Linnai) a ivhile [pot often, if not aU ivays, of a foot diameter, on the hinder part of the lut- locks round the tad ; its gait a trot, and attended with a rattling of the hoofs : but diflinguijliedfrom that decifivc- Ij by its horns, tuhich are not palmated, but round and pointed. This is the animal defcribed by Catejhy as the Ccrvus major ylmericanus, the flag of America, le Cerf de V Amerique. But it differs from the Cervus as total- ly, as does the palmated elk from dama. And in fact it feems tojland in the fame relation to the elk, as the red deer does to the falloiv. It has abounded in Virginia, has been feen, ^within my kaoivledge, on the eajiernftde of the Blue ridge fine e the year 1765, is noiv common beyond thofe mountains, has been often brought to us and tamed, and its horns are in the hands of many. IJljould defig- nate it as the * Alces Americanus cornihus teretihiis,^ It *were to be auifljed, that naturalijls, ivho are acquainted fwith the renne and elk of Europe, and ivho may hereaf- ter vijit the northern parts of America, ivoidd examine *ivell the ammals called there ly the names of the grey and ^lach moofe, caribou, orignal and elk. Jllons. de Bujfon has., done ivhat could be done from the materials in hb
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 75
nations, and calling it therefore by its Algonquin name, vv^habus, to keep it diilind: from thefe. Kalm is of the fame opinion.* I have enumerat- ed the fquirrels according to our own knowledq-e, derived from daily fight of them, becaufe I am not able to reconcile with that the European ap- pellations and defcriptions. I have heard of other fpecies, but they have never come within own my notice. Thefe, I think, are the only inftances in which I have departed from the authority of Mons. de Buffon in the conftruc1:ion of this table, I take him for my ground work, becaufe I think him the bed informed of any naturaliil who has ever writ- ten. The refuit is, that there are 18 quadrupeds
hands, toward clenring up the confitfion introduced by the loofe application of thefe names among the animals they are meant to dfignate. He reduces the nvhole to the renns md fat-horned elk. From all the information I ha-os been able to colled, I firongly fafpen they will he found to cover three, If not four d'flincl fpecies of animals. I havefeenfkins of a moofe, and of the caribou : they dif- fer more from each other, and from that of the round hom- ed elk, than I e-verfaiu twofiins d'lffer ivhich belonged to different individuals of any wild fpecies, Thefe dif- ferences are in the colour, length, and coarfenefs, of the hair, and in theftze, texture, and marks ofthefkin. Per- haps it will he found that there is, i . the moof, black and grey, the former being faid tohe the male, and the latter the female, 2. The caribou, or renne, 'i,. The flat-horned elk.ororignal 4. The round-horned elk. Should this- lafl, though pcffejfingfo nearly the charaders of the elk, he jound to be the fame with Cerf d' Ardennes or Brands hirtr. of Germany, fill there will remain the three fpecies frfl enumerated, t -
* Kalm II. 340. L 02,
76 NOTES ON VIRGINIA,
peculiar to Europe ; more than four times as ma- ny, to wit, 74, peculiar to America ; that the* firll of thefe 74 weighs more than the whole column of Europeans ; and confequently this fecond table difproves the feccnd member of the alTertion, that i the animals peculiar to the new world are on a ' fmaller fcale, fo far as that affertion relied on Eu- ropean animals for fupport ; and it is in full op- pofition to the theory which mal'ies the animal volume to depend on the circumftances of heat and mo'fjlure.
The 3d table comprehends thofe quadrupeds only which are domeftic in both countries. That fome of thefe, in feme parts of America, have be- come lefs than their original ftock, is doubtlefs true ; and the reafon is very obvious. In a thinly peopled country, the fpontaneous productions of the foreft and wade fields are fliSicient to fupport indifferently the domeftic animals of the farmer, with a very little aid from him in tlie feverefl and fcarceit feafon. He therefore finds it more con- venient to receive them from the hand of nature
* The tapir Is the largejl of the animals pecvl'mr to yf-
tnertca. I collttl his luelght t/.nis. Mom. de Buffon
fay^f XXI I L 274. that he is ofiheji-ze of a %ehu., or a
fruall coiv, Hegrces us the meafures of a zebu, lb. 94,
as taken hy hlmfelf vl-z. ^ feet 7 Inches f-om the rnn'Z'zb
tc the root of the tali, and ^ feet i inch circumference he-
hiud the fore legs. AhidU meafuring In the fame mjay 6
fe^t 9 Itxhes and 5 feet 2 Inchrs, ivelghed 6ooib, VIII.
153. The %ebu then^ and of courfe the tapir, nvould
'■(velgh about yoolb. But one ina'i'vuhial of every fpccles
■r)f' Euro!)ean pecvJ'fars iu out d probably ivclgh lefs than
J^oolb. Thefe arc 1' rer.ch meafures and icelghts.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA, 77
in that indliFerent ftate, than to keep up their fize by a care and nourifnment which would coil him much labor. If on this low fare, thefe animals dwindle, it is no more than they do in thofe parts of Europe where the porerty of the foil, or pover- ty of the owner, reduces them to the fame icanty fubfiftence. It is the uniform effect of one and the fame caufe, whether ading on this or that fide of the globe. It would be ernng therefore a- gainil that rule of philofophy, which teaches us to afcribe like effeds to like caufes, ihould we impute this diminution of fize in America to any imbecil- ity or w^ant of uniformity in the operation of nature. It m.ay be affirmed witli truth, that, in thofe coun-* tries, and with thofe individuals of America, where neceflity or curiofity has produced equal attention as in Europe, to tiie nourlfhment of animals, the horfes, cattle, fheep and hogs of the one continent are as large as thofe of the other. There are par- ticular infcances, well attefted, where individuals of this country have imported good breeders from England, and have improved their fize by care in the courfe of fome years. To make a fair com- parifon between the two countries, it will not an- fwer to bring together animals of what might be deemed the middle or ordinary fize of their fpecies; becaufe an error in judging of that m.lddie or or- dinary lize v/ould vary the refult of the compari- fon. Thus Ivioniieur D'Aubenton* confiders a horfe of 4 feet 5 inches high and 40olb. weight French, equal to 4 feet 8.6 inches and 4361b. Eng- liih as a middle fized horfe. Such a one is deem- ed a fmall horfe in America. The extremes mud therefore be reforted to. The fame anatomiftf
* FII. 432. t ^^^- 474-
78 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
diire(5led a horfe of 5 feet 9 inches height, French meafure, equal to 6 feet 1.7 Englifh. This is near 6 inches higher than any horfe I have feen : and could it be fuppofed that I had feen the larg- eft horfes in America, the conclufion would be, that ours have diminifhed, or that we have bred from a fmaller ftock. In Connedicut and Rhode Ifland, where the climate is favorable to the pro- duftion of grafs, bullocks have been flaughtered which weighed 2500, 2 2co, and 2ioolb. nett ; and thofe of 1 8oolb. have been frequent. 1 have feen a *hog weigh 10501b. after the blood, bow- els, and hair had been taken from him. Before he was kiiled, an attempt was made to weigh him with a pair of fleel-yards, graduated to i2colb. but he weighed more. Yet this hog was proba- bly not within fifty generations of the European ftock. I am well informed of another which weighed iioolb. grofs. Afies have been ftill more neglected than an)'' other domeftic animal in America. They are neither fed nor houfed in the mod rigorous feafon of the year. Yet ihey are larger than thofe meafured by Mons. D'Auben- ton,f of 3 feet 7 and quarter inches, 3 feet 4 inch- es, and 3 feet 2 inches and half, the latter weigh- ing only 2 15.81b, Thefe fizes, 1 fuppofe, have been produced by the fame negligence in Europe, which has produced a like diminution here. Where care has been taken of them on that ftdc of the water, they have been raifed to a fize border- ing on that of the horfe ; not by the heat and dry- nefs of the climate, but by good food and fnelter. Goals have been alfo much negleded in America.
* hi WiUlamJlm-^, April J ^1^9* t FIJI, 48. S5- 06.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 79
Yet they are very prolific here, bearing twice or three times a year, and from one to five kils at a birth. Mons. de BuiFon has been ienfible of a difference in this circumflance in- favor of Ameri- ca.'* But what are their greateft weights, I can- not fay. A large fneep here weighs loolb. I ob- ferve Mons. D'Aubenton calls a ram of 62lb. one of die middle fize.f But to fay what are the ex- tremes of growth in thefe and the other domeftic animals of America, would require information of Vv'hich no one individual is poiTeffed. The weights acT;ually known and ftated in the third table pre- ceding will fuffice to fhow, that we may conclude, en probable grounds, that, with equal food and care, the climate of America will preferve the races of domellic anim^als as large as the European (lock from which they are derived ; and confe- quently that the third m.ember of Mons. de Buf- fon's affertion, that the domeftic animals are fub- jedl to degeneration from the climate of America, is as probably wrong as the firft and fecond were certainly fo.
That the lall part of it is erroneous, which af- firms that the fpecies of American quadrupeds are comparatively few, is evident from the tables tak- en together. ^ By tftefe it appears tliat there are an hundred fpecies aboriginal of Am.erica. Mons. de Buffon fuppofes about double that number exift- mg on the whole earth.J Of thefe Europe, Afia, and Africa furnifh fuppofe 126 ; that this, the 26 common to Europe and America, and about 100 which are not in America at all. The American fpecies then are to thofe of the reft of the earth, as 100 to 1 26, or 4 to 5. But the refidue of the earth
*Xr///. 96. -fix. 4.1, tXYX2i9.
8o NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
bsiii* double the extent of America, the exaft pro- portion would haV'^ been but 4 to 8.
Hitherto I have confidered this hypothefis as aplied to brute animals only, and not in Its exten- fion to the man of America, whether aboriginal or tranfplanted. It is the opinion of Mons. de BufFoii that the former furniflies no exception to it.*
* Quoique le fauvage du nouveau monde foit a peu.
* pres de meme ftature que I'homme ds notre mon-
* de, cela ne fufiit pas pour qn'il puifs faire une ex-
* ception au fait general du rapetiifement de la na-
< ture vlvante dans tout ce continent : ie fauvage
* eft foible & petit par les organs de la generation;
* U n'a nl poil, ni barbe, & nuile ardeur pour fa
* femelle. Quoique plus leger que I'Europeen,
* parce qu'il a plus d'habitude a courir, U eft cepen-
* dant beaucoup moins fort de corps ; il eft auffi
* bien moins fenfibie, & cependant plus cralntif & ' plus lache ; il n'a nulie vivacite, nulle aflivite
* dans I'ame ; ceile du corps eft moins un exerclce,
* un mouvement volontaire qu'une neceilite d'a(5l-
* Ion caufee par le befoin ; otez lui la faim & la foil,
* vous detruirez en meme temps le principe a^lif da
< tous fes mouvem.ens ; il demeurera ftupidement
* en repos fur fes jambes ou couche pendant des
* jours entlers. II nefaut pas aller chercher plus loin ' la caufe de la vie difperfce des fauvages Sz de leur ' eloignement pour la fociete : la plus precieufe e-
* tincelle du feu de ia nature leur a ete refufee : Us ' manquent d'ardeur pour leur fem.elle, & par con-
* fequent d'amour pour leur femblables : ne con-
* noiffant pas Pattachment le plus vif. le plus ten-
* dre de tous, leurs autres fentimens de ce ^enere,
* font frolds & lan^uifTans : ils aiment fofblement
o
* XFIIL 146,
NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
S[
leurs peres & leurs enflms ; la fcciete la plus inti- nie de toutes, celle de la meme famille, n'a done chez enx que de foibles liens ; la fociete d'une famille a I'autre n'en a point du tout : des lors nulle reunion nulle republique, nulle etat fbcial. La phyfique de I'amour fait chez eux le moral des moeurs ; leur cceur eft glace, leur fociete & leuf em- pire dur. lis ne regardent leurs femmes que com- me des fervantes de peine ou des betes de fomiTse qu'ils chan gent, fans menagemcnt, du flirdeau de leur chaiTe, & qu'ils forcent, flms pitie, fuis reconnoilfance, a des ouvrages qui fouvent font audeifus de leurs forces : ilsVont que peu d'en- fans ; ils en ont peu de foin : tout fe reffent de leur premier defaut ; ils font indifFerents p.irce qu'ils font peu puiifants, & cette indifference pour le faxe eft la tache originelle qui fietrit la, nature, qui Tempache de f'epanouir, & qui de- truifmt les germes de la vie, coupe enmema temps la racine de la fociete. L'homme ne fait done point d'exceprion ici. La nature en lui refufant lefs pujifances de I'amour Pa plus mal- traite & plus rapetiffe qu'aucun des animaux.' An affliaing pidure, indeed, which, for the honor of human nature, I am glad to believe has no ori- ginal. Of the Indian of South America I know nothing ; for I would not honor with the appella- tion of knowledge, what I derive, from tjie fables publiihed of them. Thefe I believe to be juft as true as the fables of Efop. This belief is founded on what I have feen of man, w^hite, red, and black, and what has been written of him by au^ thors, enlightened themfelves, and writing amidft an enlightened people. The Indian of North America being more \ylthin oy.r reach, I c\\\
82 NOTES ON VIPvGTNIA.
fpeak of him fomewhat from my own knowledge, but more from the information of others better acquainted with him, and on whofe truth and judgment I can rely. From thefe fources I am able to fay, in contradidlion to this reprefentation, that he is neither more defeftive in ardor, nor more impotent with his female, than the white re- duced to the fame diet and exercife : that he is brave, when an enterprize depends on bravery; education with him making the pohit of honor confift in the deftrudion of an enemy by ftratagem, and in the prefervation of his own perfon free from injury ; or perhaps this is nature ; while it is. education which teaches us to* honor force more than fineffe : that he will defend himfelf a- gaind an hoft of enemies, always choofmg to be killed, rather thanf to iurrender, though it be to
* Sol Rodomonte fpre%ria di venire Se non, dove la via mem eficura. Ariofto. 14. 117. t In fo judicious an author as Don UUoa, and one to ivhoni ive are indeUed for the mojl precife informa- tion ive have of South America, I did ?wt expeB to find fiich affertions as the follorMing, * Los indios veticidos fon los mas cohardes y pufilanimes que fe peuden ver^ : — Se hacen indcentes,fe hurnillan hafia el defprecio, difctiU pan f II inconfiderado arrojo, y con las fuplicas y los rue- . rros danfeguras pruebus defu pnJiLviimidad.'^o lo que "refieren las h'tforias de la Conquifla, fibre fus grandes acciones, es en itn fenditofiguadoy 6 el charaSer de ejlas Rentes no es ahora fegiin era entonces ; pero lo que no %ene duda es, que las Nacones dela parte Septentrionel Juhfiflen en la mifma lihertad quefiempre han tenidojin haher fJo foju%gadGS por algun Principe extrano,y que , vivenfegunfu regimen y cofiumbres detoda lavida.fm que haya hahida motivo para qiic muden de charaSer ;
NOTES ON VIRCxINIA. 85
the whites, who he knows will treat him well : that in other fituatlons alio he meets death with more deliberation, raid endures tortures with a firmnefs unknown almoft to religious enthufiafm with us : that he is afFedionate to his children, careful of them, and indulgent in the extreme :
y en ejlos fe t/ Io m'lfnw, que fucede en los del Peru, y de ioda la America Alcr'id'ionaU reducidos,y que nuhca lo ban ejlado.' Notlc'ivs Ameruanas, Entretcn'imietito XV III. J. I. Don Ulhahere admits, that the authors luho have defcribed the Indians of South America, before they were enflaved, had reprefented them as a Irave peo- pie, and therefore feems to havefufpeded that the coivard- ice nvhich he had ohferved in thofe of the prefejit race might he the effed of fuhjugation. But, fnppojng the Indians of North America to he co'wards alfo, he con- cludes the anceftors of thofe of South America to have leenfo too, and therefore that thofe authors have given fclionsfor truth. He was probably not acquainted him- 'felf with^ the Indians of North America, and had form- ed his opinion of them from hear -fay. Great numbers of I^rench, of Engl'flo, and of Americans, are perfectly ac- quainted with thefe people. Had he had an opportunity of enquiring of any of thefe, thty would have told hitn^ that there never was an inflance known of an Indian beg- ging his life when in the power of his eneinies : on the contrary, that he courts death by every pojjihle iifult and provocation. His reafoning then would have been re- verfed thus, * Since the prefent Indian of North Amer- ica is brave, and authors tell us, that the anceflors of thofe of South America were brave alfo ; it muff follow , that the cowardice of their defcendanis is the effect of fuh- jugation and ill treatment.'' For he obferves, ib. ^.27. that ' les obrages los miquilan por la Inhummiidad com
NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
that liis afTedions comprehend his other connef- tions, weakenmg, as with us, from circle to circle, ^s they recede from the centre that his fricndihips rare Pcrong and faithful to the uttermoil* extremi- ty : that his fenfibility is keen, even the warriors weeping mod bitterly on the lofs of their children, though in general they endeavour to appear fupe- rior to human events : that his vivacity and acliv- 5ty of mind is equal to ours in the fam^e fituation : Iience his eagernefs for hunting, and for games of chance. The women are fubmitted to unjuft drud- gery. This I believe is the cafe with every bar- barous people. ^Vith fuch force is law. The llronger fex therefore impofes on the v\^eaker. It is civilization alone which replaces women in the
* j^ renmrhable hijlance cf ibis appeared in the cafe ■cf the late Col. Byrd^ ivho ivas fent to the Cherokee na- "i'lor. to tranfad: fome hujinefs ivlih them. It happened thai fome of our dforderly people had nijl laded one or tivo of that nai'ion. It avas therefore propofed in the council of the Cherohees that Col. Byrd flooidd be put to deaths in revenge for the hfs of their countryrnen' A- mong them ivas a chif called Silouee, cvho, on-fomefomu er occafion^ had contracled an acquaintance and friend'^ fh'ip iv'ith Col. Byrd. He came to him enjery night in his ten! J and told him not to be afraid, they Jhoidd not hill him. After many days deliberatlcn, kciueiiery the determina" lion tvas, contrary to SiJo.use's expeclaiion, that Byrd Jhoidd be put to death, and fome nvarrion '-ujere difpatch- t'd as executioners. Sdouee attended them, a7id ivhen they entered the tent, he threnv himfelf bet-ween them mid Bxrd, and fild to the fivarricrs, * This man is my friend : before you get at him, you rnuft kill nie.^ On ivhich they returned, and the council refpzBcd the .^ri/>:ij>le fo nmch as iv recede fr or.', thrlr determination.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. S5
enjoyment of their natural equality. That firft teaches us to fubdue the lelfifh pailions, and to re- fpecl thofe rights in others which we value in our- lelves. Were we in equal barbarii'm, our females would be equal drudges. The man with them is lefs ftrong than with us, but their women (Ironger than ours : and both from the fame obvious rea- fon ; becaufe our man and their woman is habitu- ated to labor, and formed by it. With both races the fej? which is indulged with eafe is lead athletic. An Indian man is fmall in the hand and wrill, for the fame reafon for which a failor is large and ftrong in the arms and fhoulders, and a porter in the legs and thighs. — They raife fewer children than we do. The caufes of this are to be found, not in a difference of nature, butjof circumftance. The women very frequently attending th men in their parties of war and of hunting., child-bearing becomes extremxcly inconvenient to them. It is faid, therefore, that they have learned the practice of procuring abortion by the ufe of feme vegeta- ble ; and that it even extends to prevent concep- tion for a confi-derable time after. During thefe parties they are expofed to numerous hazards, to ex- oeliive exertions, to the greateft extremities of hun- ger. Even at their homes the nation depends for food, through a certain part of every year, on the gleanings of the foreft : that is, they experience a famine once in every year. With all animals, if the females be badly fed, or not fed at all, her young perifli : and if both male and female be re- duced to like v/ant, generation becomes lefs aftive, lefs productive. To the obftacles then of want and hazard, which nature has oppofed to the mul- tiplication of wild animals, for the purpofe of re-
S6 NOTES ON VIRGINIA. '
{lrainin_^ theif numbers within certain bounds, thofe of labor and of voluntary abortion are ad- ded with the Indian. No wonder then if they multiply lefs than we do. Where food is regular- ly fupplied, a fmgle farm v/ill fhow more of cattle,, than a whole country of foreils can of buffaloes. The fame Indian women, when married to white traders, who feed them and their children plenti- fully and regularly, wlio exempt them from ex- ceffive drudgery, who keep them ftationary and unexpofed*to accident, produce and raife as many children as the white women. Inlliances are known, under thefe circumilances, of their rearing a dozen children. An inhuman pradice once prevailed in this country, of making Haves of the Indians. It is a ind: well known with us, that the Indian women fo enflaved produced and raif- ed as numerous families as either the v\^hites or blacks among whom they lived. — -It has been faid, that the Indians have lefs hair than the vdiites, except on the head. But this is a fadt of vvhich fair proof can fcarcely be had. With them it is difgracefal to be liairy on the body. They fay it likens them to hogs. They therefore pluck the liair as faft as it appears. But the traders who marry their vromen, and prevail on them to dif- continue this practice, fay that nature is the fame with them as with the whites. Nor, if the fad be true, is the confequence neceffary which has been drawn from it. Negroes have notorioudy lefs hair than whites ; yet they are more ardent. But if cold and moiflure be the agents of nature for diminilhing the races of animals, how comes ihe all at once to fufpend their operation as to the phy- sical man of the new world, whom the Count ^c-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 87
knowledges to be * a pen pres de mem« ftatiire "^ que I'homme de notre nionde,' and to let loofe their influence on his moral faculties ? How has this * combination of the elements and other phy-
* fical caufes, fo contrary to the enlargement of
* animal nature in this new worid,nhefe obftacies
* to the developement and formation of great germs,'* been arreted and fufpended, fo as to per- mit the human body to acquire its juil dimenfions, and by what inconceivable procefs has their action been dircded on his mind alone ? To judge of the truth of this, to form a juil eftimate of their gen- ius and mental powers, more f:ici:s are wanting, and great allowance to be made for thofe eircum- flances of their fituation wliich call for a difplay of* particular tcilents only. This done, we Ihall prob- ably find that they are form^ed in mind as well as in body, on the fame module with the f * Homo fapiens Europisus.' The principles of their focie- ty forbidding all compulfion, they are to be led tn duty and to enterprize by perfonal influence and periuafion. Hence eloquence in council, bravery and addrefs in war, become tlie foundations of all confequence with them. To thefe acquirements all their faculties are directed. Of their bravery and addrefs in war we have multiplied proofs, be- caufe we have been the fubje<51s on which they were exercifed. Of their eminence in oratory, we have fewer examples, becaufe it is difplayed chiefly in their own councils. Some however, we have of very fuperiorluftre. I may challenge the whole orations of Demofthenes and Cicero, and of any more eminent orator, if Europe has furniflied more eminent, to produce a fmgle pallage, fuperi-
* XFIIL 146. -j- Lynn. Syji, Defnii'ion of Men.
18 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
or to the fpeech of Logan, a Mingo chief to lorcl Duninore. when governor of this iiate. And, as a teltimony of their talents in this hne, I beg leave to introduce it, firiT: dating the hicidents necefTary for underdanding it.
* In the fpring of the year 1774, ^ robbery was committed by fome Indians on certain land ad- venturers on the River Ohio. The whites in that quarter, according to their cuftom, under- took to punilh this outrage in a fummary way. Captain Michael Crefap, and a certain Daniel Greathoufe, leading on thefe parties, fHrprlfed, at different times, travelling and hunting parties of the Indians, having their women and children with them, and murdered many. Among thefe were unfortunately the family of Logan, a chief celebrated in peace and war, and long diftinguiih- ed as the friend of the whites. This unworthy return provoked his vengeance. He according- ly fignalized himfelf in the war which enfufed. In the autumni of the fame year a decifive battle was fought at the mouth of the Great Kanha- way, between the colleded forces of the Shawa- ncfe, Mingoes and Delawares, and a detachment of the Virg-inia militia. The Indians were de- feated and fued for peace. Logan, however, difdained to be feen among the luppliants. But left the fnicerity of a treaty Ihould be diftrufted, from Vv'hich fo diftinguifhed a chief abfented himfelf, he fent, by a melTenger, the following fpeech, to be delivered to lord Dunniore.
' 1 appeal to any white man to fay, if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat : if ever he came cold and naked, and he cloathed him not. During the courfe of the
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 89
* laft long and bloody -^ ar Logan remained idle in
* his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was tt.j
* love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed
* as they pafled, and faid ' Logan is the friend of « white men.' I had even thought to* have lived
* with you, but for the injuries of one man. Co- « lonel Crefap, the Lift fpring, in cold blood, and « unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Lo-
* gan, not even fparing m.y women and children.
* There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins
* of any living creature. This called on me for
* revenge. I have fought it : I have killed m.anv :
* I have fully glutted my va^-geance : for mr
* country I rejoice at the beams of peace. But
* do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy of
* fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn
* on his heel to fave his iifle. Who is there' to
* mourn for Logan ? — Not one."
Before we condem.d the Indians of this conti- nent as wanting genius, we muft conflder that let- ters have not yet been introduced ainono- them. Vitrz we to compare them in their prefeiit ftate with the Europeans, north of the Alps, when the Roman arts and arm.s lirtl: croifed thcfe moun- tains, the comparifon would be unequal, becaufe, at that time, thofe parts 01 Europe were fwarm.- ing with numbers, becaufe numbers produce em- ulation, and multiply the chances of improvement, and one improvement begets another. Yet I mav fafely aik, how many good poets, how m.anv able miathematicians, hcvv^ many great inventors in arts or fciences, had Europe, north cf the Airs, then produced ? And it was fixteen centuries after this before a Newton could be formed. I do not mean to deny, that there are varieties in the race cf mm, M
50 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
cliftinguflied b}^ their powers both of body anc? iTihidr I believe there are, as I fee to be the cafe in the races of other animals. I only meantQ fuggeft a doubt, whether the bulk and faculties of^animals depend on the fide of the Atlantic on ^vhich their food happens to grow, or which fur« nifiies the elements of which they are compound- ed ? Whether nature has enhlled herfelf as a Cis or Trans-Atlantic partifan ? I am induced to fiif- pect, there has hs^n more eloquence than found Teafoning difplayed in fupport of this theory ; that it is one of tl^ofe cafes w^here the judgment has been feduced by a glowing pen ; andw^hilft I ren- der every tribute of honor and efteem to the cele- brated zoologift, who has added, and is ilill ad- ding fo many precious things to the treafures of fcience, I m.uA doubt whether in this inftance he has not cherifiied error alfo, by lending her for a moment his vivid im.agination ?aid bewitchmg
language. (4) . •, 1 .
So far the Count de Buffon has carried this new theory of the tendency of nature to belittle her produaions on this fide of the Atlantic. Its ap- plication to the race of whites, tranfplanted from Europe, remained for the Abbe Raynal. 'On * doit etre etonne (he fays) que I'Amerique n'ait « pas encore produit un bon poete, un habile math- ' ematicien, un hcmm.e de genie dans un feul art» « ou une feule fcience.^ 7. Hid. Phiios. p. 92. ed. Maeftrich. 177J.. * America has not yet produc- ed one good poet.' When we Ihall have exifted us a people as long as the Greeks did before they T^roduced a Hom.er, the Romans a Virgd, the French a R.acine and Voltaire, the Engliih a Shake- ibeare and Milton, ihould this reproach be Ml
i
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 91
true, we will enquire from what unfriendly caufes h has proceeded, that the other countries of Eu- rope and quarters of the earth fhall not have in- icribed any name in the roll of poets.* But nei- ther has America produced ' one able mathemati- ^ cian, one man of genius in a lingle art or a fni- * gle fcience/ In war we have produced a Wafli- ington, whofe memory will be adored while liberty ihall have votaries, v/nofe name will triumph over time, and will in future ages afTume its ju(l fta- tion among the moll celebrated w^ortliies of the world, when that wretched philofophy Ihall be for- gotten which vv'ouid have arranged him among the degeneracies of nature. In phyfics we have produced a Franklin, than whom no one of the prefent age has made more important difcoveries, nor has enriched philofoply with more, or more ingenious folutions of the phenomena of nature. We have fuppofed Mr. Rittenhoufe fecend to no adronomer living : that in genius he mufl be the firft. becaufe he is felf-taught. As an artifl he has exhibited as great a proof of mechanical genius as the world has ever produced. Ke has not indeed made a world ; but he has by imitation approach- ed nearer its Maker than any man who has lived
* Has the world as yet produced more than two po- etS) acknozvledged to befuch by all nations ? j4n Engliffj" man, only, reads Milton iv'uh delight, an Italian Tajfo^ a Frenchman Henrtade, a Porluguefe Camoens, but Ho" rner' and Virgil have been the rapture of every age and nation : they are read nvlth enihufiafm In their originals hy thofe luho can read the orl^lnalS) and In tranJIatiQM jby thofti who caiinotj,
9^ NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
from the creaticn to this day.* As in phylofo- phy and war, ib in government, in oratory, in painting, in the plallic art, \ve might Ihow that America, though but a child of yePcerday, has already given hopeful proofs of genius, as well of the nobler kinds, which aroufe the beit feelings of maH, vrhich call him into adion, which fubilan- tiate his freedom, and conduct him to happinefs, as of the fubordinalie, which ferve to amufe him only. We therefore fuppofe, that this reproach is as unjuft as it is unkind ; and that, of the geniuf- es which adorn the prefent age, America contrib- utes its full fiiare. For comparing it with thofe countries, Vvhere genius Is moil cultivated, where ;i.ie the moft excellent models for art, and fcaf- ^^ '.folding: for the attainment of fcience, as France .nd England for inllancc, Ave calculate, thus ; I'he United States contain three mJliions of in- liabitants France twenty millions ; and the Britifii iflands ten. We produce a Wafnington, a Frank- lin, a Rittenhoufe. France then iliould have half a dozen in each of thefe lines, and Great-Britain half that number, equally eminent. It may be true, that France has: we are but jufl becoming acquainted vv'ith her, and our acquaintance fo far gives us high ideas of the genius of her inhabit- ants, it would be injuring too many of them to nam^e particularly a Voltaire, a Buifcn, the con- ftellation of Encyclopedifts, the Abbe Raynal him.-
* There are 'oarlous ^iX^ays of leephig truth out of fv^ht. Mr. Rittenhoufe s model of the planetary, fyf cm has the plagu'idry appeUat'ion cf an Orrery ; a?iii the quadrard iuvnted hy Godfrey^ an American alfo, atid 'Tvlih tJys all cf which the European natlom traverfe the ^'-■'jb?^ h called Nadley's qtiadran!.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. - 53
2l\£, kc. Sec. We therefore have reafon to be- lieve Ihe cull produce her full quotii of genius. The prefeat war having io long cut off all com- munication with Great-Britain, we are not able to make a fair estimate of the Pcate of fcience in ihat country. The fpirit in which fiie wa^es w^ir, is the only fampb before - cur eyes, and that docs not feem the legitimate offspring either of fcience or of civilization. Ihe fun of her glory is fail defcending to the horizon. Ker philofophy has crofled the channel, her freedom the Atlantic, and herfelf feems palling to that awful dillolution, whofe iffiie is not given human forefight to fcan.*
* In a later eclhlon of the Aohe RaynaPs ivorh^ he las nv'ithdra^jon his cen Jure from thai part of ihe ne-vj ivorld itihahlted by the Federo-ylmericans } but has hft Ifjl'dl on the other parts. North America has alivays been more accejfhle to f,rcrg'ers than South. If he tvas mf- taken then as to the former^ he may be fo as to the. latter. The glirnrnerings ivhich reach us from South Atv.er'ica enable us only to fee that its inhahltants are held under toe accumulated prejfure of fl avery ^ fvpsrflition and igno- rance, JVhenever they fhall be able to raife under this riveight, andfho-zu ihenfclves tc ihe rejl of ihe 'Lvarld, they ivill probably fjjoi'j they are like the refi of ihe ivorld. Ws have not yet fffLcieni evidence that there are more lakes and togs in South America than in ihe other parts of the earth. As little do lue hwui) ivhat ivoidd he their ot' eraiion on the mind of man. That country has been inf- itedhy Spaniards and Poriuguefe chiefly ^ and almoj} oc" cluf'oely, Thefe going from a country of the old fw oriel remarkably dry in its foil and climate, fancied there 'vcere more lakes and fogs in South America than in Europe,
94 NOTES ON VIRGINIA,
Having given a fketch of our rnmerals, veg- etables, and qnadrupeds, and being led by a proud theory to make a comparifon of the latter with thoie of Europe, and to extend it to the man of America, both aboriginal and emi.r;i-ant, I Vt^ill proceed to the remaining articles comprehended under the prefent query.
Between ninety and an hundred of our birds have been defcribed by Catefby. His dra.wings are better as to form and attitude, than coloring which is generally too high. They are the fol- lowing.
jln inhahitant of Ireland, Szueden, or Finland would have formed the contrary opinion. Had South Ainerica been dif covered and fettled hy a people from a fenny coiin^ try, it ivould prohshly have been reprefented as much dryer than the old ivorld. A patient purfuit offaBs, and cautious combination and comparifon of them, is the drudgery to which man is fubje£t by his Maher^ if he ivijhss to at lain fire knowledge.
|
1 1 |
00 vn oa 00 N |
ON |
w CO ^00 <-• rf-NO> |
N e<% |
||
|
•c" |
es -:}- |
CO Cr'. *-• |
c\ |
'■hcc ^O -< N coVD VO |
t^oo |
|
|
c % N |
-1 CO CO |
■^ |
« CO - CO CO - ^ ^ |
CO CO |
||
|
Cy f-i |
M IH VO |
t-1 |
Hi i-H loU-^VolO""" '-* |
I-H i-< |
||
|
^^ |
00 |
t-t |
||||
|
^ |
NH |
|||||
|
■-c |
||||||
|
^ |
||||||
|
. • |
• |
o • rt |
CJ |
|||
|
Names. |
s |
• O |
II |
d wood d pecker |
||
|
• |
Field : izzard |
Bald eagle Little hawk. S Pigeon hawk Forked tail hawl |
!arolin bird Itimoi kdaw. uckow wood |
-ere lie ;d woo |
||
|
GINIA |
a. |
jTyrant. Turkey bu |
Little owl Parotof C Blue jay Baltimare Baftard ba Purple jac Carolina c White bill Large red Red-hcadc |
|||
|
i^O |
M UO C-J Tt- r< |
t-, HH u->00 Cn c< ^ |
J>« o |
|||
|
ed |
«-n |
. . . > |
>— ( |
^ - - -'d- '^ »-; Cn -H |
1- (^ |
|
|
> |
1 |
« |
o u |
|||
|
f=w |
1 |
1 1 • |
' . ^^"5 |
3 |
||
|
o |
• 2 |
1 |
ctua aurita minor Itticus Carolinicnfis a glandaria, cxrulea crifl 2rus ex aurco nigroquc v, srus minor >nedula purpurea culas Carolinicnfis us maxnnus roftro albo |
■J-J 2h |
||
|
BIRDS |
capa corona rubra fpecie Gallo-pavo |
a capite albo iter minor iter palumbarlus iter Cauda furcata |
to 5 ;-. OJ 4_> |
niger maxmius ca capite toto rubro |
||
|
•~ c |
1 < 1^^ Q_| Q_j |
'Sh |
to u? |
|||
|
^ 'J '^J O |
O |
=i ;3 |
||||
|
CT" O O O U |
is s s h^ S ^ u 'f^ p; s |
|||||
|
■'^ |
C/5 to |
CO |
||||
|
d to |
QJ W C^ |
f-i' |
||||
|
••n |
•a -., s j^.g.- |
'El, |
||||
|
a ^ |
::3 |
CJ .;:- ,-2 p-; t-» ^-< CJ Zj O '3-> C ri o o o o o o o o |
• -- ^ r-( U5 ■--. l-i , — 1 >-« ?3 j_j r; ^ C ,r^ |
to u ::= P |
||
|
_55 |
X y K- o o ^ g ^ |
us pileat userythr |
||||
|
io |
c/?PHUOOOU(^P-tfW |
-^ ' HH CO
crj >-< '-'-( ff; -t- O ■■""•C M 'T ro fO tr> M i/^ r^ fo
>^ i~i <"i >- -^ ■■' .t -, .^ i; !.-> — o O i/^ t>- CO 00'
i-H — < 1-1 (Si (N <.■-; "Sr ►-• — ' C<-, Tj- -^ rj- C^'; r< ^ CO
CO CO CO O O CO Cn i-i t^ i^ t>- r^ t~^ t>. ^- uo Lr>
|
0 |
||||||||||||
|
^ |
0^ |
|||||||||||
|
CJ |
. ^a |
|||||||||||
|
<-> |
<j-> "t* .• • |
1 |
1 |
|||||||||
|
>- |
'V 0 J-i |
1 |
1 |
1 |
||||||||
|
^ L |
y . -^ |
' |
1 |
|||||||||
|
J |
Cm '^ :^ ':5 ^'i • |
1 |
1 |
1 |
i |
|||||||
|
0 ^"^ 2 |
1 |
u .M |
||||||||||
|
:5q |
^ h B |
• |
0 |
44 |
f V |
|||||||
|
x c 1! |
^ til |
■i-J ■ — < |
1 1— I |
Sin |
0 |
'■C5 ci |
c3 'r-i 5 |
Blue wing tjal Summer duck |
c y^ d 0 |
3 0 |
c>
'H CN '-' N M M — N N N
t
^
'J
5 o
a '-3
7: !- S^
V3 to
to (J1
:i q
<3J TJ
•— ' o
5o
^ "" O
zl '^ r
u
3 5 '^<!<1
C O
7i
■— , • •- • — ^J _J »— ^ ^ fT» p-* /!> /!< I-* r-t
oc 0:5 •- '^
s < < <: o^5^< <d
o >
p o
r-i-J to
c ?
<;''
. Ph
|
si |
VI |
Ui |
||||||
|
'2 |
y, g^ |
|||||||
|
Si |
f^ |
g |
'-I |
|||||
|
^ q |
to c; CJ to =! -^ tii ,=i rt 2 y c |
to 3 |
0 |
to 3 |
adei eph ica |
C C Tj |
;:::3 0 <-> to |
|
|
V} to to to |
> to |
a c ^3 |
s can s hue s'rull |
to to to |
to ^ |
|||
|
;J 3 d s |
d |
0 |
rt OS rt |
rt :i :^ |
^-2 |
|||
|
• •" |
0 U 0 'nJ |
u |
4-) |
C c C |
t^ C! G |
|||
|
*^ |
ssss |
c^ |
v:; |
< |
OH |
<<< |
<<< |
|
« §1 |
to ■^ |
M t^ VO lo |
tr, |
N |
> |
tH |
to^o c\ t^ c^ "^ >- |
•- CN |
||
|
(-( |
CO |
CO "^ CO t^ |
O ' |
o vo |
lOOO lo M CO O |
0 -0 |
0 r- |
|||
|
%l |
i-( |
HH |
i-i i-i i-< H-. |
1" |
uo |
1^ |
1— 1 |
.-c C^ <v) C5 -"^ -^ CO |
i-0^ |
|
|
-f |
4- |
►^ ri- ri- ^ |
CO |
1— I |
LO |
1-^ »^ rU TT CO |
^ ^ ^ |
|||
|
*^ 5^ |
»-< |
HH |
l-H l-( HH |
hM |
►-1 |
« i-i oo |
||||
|
■ »— ( ^__^ |
c |
|||||||||
|
^'S & |
||||||||||
|
• |
0 CL> |
|||||||||
|
q; |
^^.-H |
bJD |
1 |
|||||||
|
1 |
1 |
' . -^ |
1 |
1 |
1 . i-> |
• |
||||
|
• |
C |
"^ |
1 C Q- |
1—1 |
||||||
|
o Cl) |
' |
2 ■ g" |
' |
1 |
CJ |
:1 dge.A uitain ; |
"J > 0 Xi |
|||
|
1 |
u |
t; -4-1 0 |
eron. C: bitten white her bitteni. |
qj 3 u |
>• O r— < fcJD .a |
catcher Ral-bir( urkey can partri nt. Moi |
0 Cl. |
1) tIJ |
||
|
3 |
Blue h Small Little Brown |
O ^ |
Brown Chatte Oyfter Sorec. Wild t Ameri Pheafa |
0 Groun 3 Pigeon |
||||||
|
O |
C\vo o r^oo |
hH |
N |
CO |
-, |
U-N O ./ C< H- ^ |
•^ M |
|||
|
1-^ |
t-- |
r-oo r- r^oo |
DO |
GO |
r*^ |
M M |
rJ CO |
|||
|
« |
• |
• • • « |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. . ,__, . CO |
• . |
. . |
|
|
CO |
i-< |
fc-1 l-H HH H-J |
I-H |
•-< |
M |
»-^ |
1-1 <-. >4 CO |
h-t i-i |
h-< 1-^ |
|
|
nj |
!/) 1 ^ 9 |
|||||||||
|
r:; |
1 |
Cl, fc^ |
||||||||
|
o |
rt |
1 |
• 1 1 oi |
|||||||
|
*C |
CJ |
• r.n ' |
1 |
^ |
1 |
1 |
||||
|
• |
s |
< 4-> |
<3J |
1 |
1 |
1 |
•.^ |
. |
i |
|
|
• 2 5^ |
< 1 |
1 *s ^ . O '^ Pi $:. o |
DC |
1 |
. |
« |
c/> |
0 |
||
|
\^ |
t^ |
c^ |
• .t: O <w |
r: |
d .2 .:= t? |
V5 > |
||||
|
c3 |
1^ O |
1j |
a cserulea a ftellaris min a alba minor ' a ftellaris Am |
QJ a < |
enius albus enius fufcus |
V? 'u o t.0 1 |
latopus nula Americai )pavo Sylveftr X Sylveftris V alius minor, 0 |
urtur minimus gi ilumbus mio-ratoi |
-p tJ ^ Si |
|
|
CJ O (U O O OJ TJ tb "Tj 'TJ tS "^ ^H ^i ;-, ^H !-, ;-, |
a |
?5 |
^-1 |
|||||||
|
<<<:<<< |
:2;^Ph |
HPh |
H< |
<U 3
.3 <^
o c^ p c::; -5
*-■ i-r" C CJ Zi
w
> S > w
ctf nS rt ci cJ
CJ <U <U (U <L>
tj T3 Tj "TJ "Xf
v- ^ ^ ;-< ^
;<^ < <-^ <; <1
•^4
r^ U ^
d 5
Ch
OC±i
> 9
•—i rr! ^
rt rt rt
4-1 4-» J.
fl s ^ 7i rt
N
a
^ ^ a
:=s ?1 '^
?2 o .i>
.::^ ti rt c«
CJ ^ •— ' ••!
bs to P <i5
Oh a ^^
rt rt OS ^ -^ -Q -J^ c«
s =5 :3 ^
r— < 1 — I t — 1 tl
o o o --1
VD
1/^ u^ Cs i^ ^ "-oVO VO CO
CO 00
ir^ t^ t-- l>. t-- t^oo
|
3^— V— ' |
r— < 50 |
||||||||||||||
|
. ' rt |
rt |
WJ |
3 |
||||||||||||
|
»— < |
J3 |
i |
t |
! |
1 |
t |
• |
a •' ;3 |
|||||||
|
* s |
-^ '^ |
H |
1 |
Virginia nig eak |
1 |
4-> |
|||||||||
|
-3 |
ri c3 |
o d |
TJ |
• |
1 1 |
9 |
1 |
(-1 |
1 |
^ |
• |
i |
rx: u |
||
|
4-1 |
o <u |
n3 O |
-3 |
u |
4J |
*-5 |
!2 |
||||||||
|
Field la Redv/Ir |
J—" o |
I— 1 c o o |
o |
4^ 'r3 |
Chatter Red bii Blue gi |
O c CO |
Rice bi] Painted Blue lin Little f Cow-pe Towhe Americ Purple |
||||||||
|
c^ CO |
On |
OD |
V- |
k-. |
^c |
CO OnO |
r^ -t- Uo lr> T^ Tt |
CO >-« |
|||||||
|
CO ^ • • |
M |
ro |
>— * |
CO CO |
CO |
(-4 |
T i-i |
T |
CO 1-t |
CO >-* |
cr- H-l |
3
o 5*0
C '^ O cj
00 C
i S '5 'a,
3 Eh
S g
_o ^
Cm .s
C ci
s s
■n U
|
C3 |
B |
|
}-. |
<j |
|
Wl |
U1 |
|
QJ |
a> |
|
<ti <±i |
I .^
-Q
O fn
Cj [3 ^ '-'J
::i ::i -^ Bj
3
;3 ^^ ^ ?:: J2 -^
■'^jry
o o ;-
O C CvJ
n:
|
r/) |
rt |
cit |
||||
|
w |
||||||
|
f-H |
r— < |
* r^ |
||||
|
o o 4-) |
fM |
c/» |
</5 pi |
3 O |
s <: |
|
|
r5 |
3 |
"5 |
F— < |
|||
|
fcJC |
b |
;:3 5-. |
CU3 |
|||
|
1-, |
• p— ' |
rv! |
'v! |
T* |
rt |
i- |
|
f^ |
^-J Pl; fin' Ph U t^i |
ti w
O ^
W3
s
3
H
CO w
to ,:3^
:3
g g „
TO (U
rt
o ^-1 "W
CJ
ctS rt rj
r ^ t-Z-tSj^
y
fcJD
03
V) fj r"\ N S! N r—t ^^ *m ' jZi '^
a 1^ ri i} CJ CJ
g^— -J^ ^ ^ ^ ^
S C O £ S S ^rt
fco toa
»--'-' ■^^j^i>--^4-«^0 Ln Onoo "^00 GO cOTt-^OC^ c<-)cocococOj^wJ ft ■4-*-" '-'
CO CO 00 c\c6 cocoooctnm 6c>d6
UyU
en !-
rt
cu
U u
P-, o 3 -^ "JJ
|
o |
M |
CO |
'j"! ^0*0 |
|
3 |
m |
t^ |
'■4- -^ ^^ |
|
■* |
^ |
■^ ^ r5 ts |
|
|
) |
O |
M |
N N M |
|
M |
!-<►-()—( |
||
|
p: |
|||
|
o |
|||
|
*-> |
|||
|
^ |
|||
|
I |
i |
rt • |
|
|
s |
|||
|
^-1 |
^ ^. |
||
|
a. |
1 |
Jj -O I , |
|
|
^ |
T3 a
o
o k P5 ^
"O.-d
•-r-i , ^ 4_i >T-! '*-'
>^
^ ^ CD
cri u ,-:^ C
s .^
b '-' ^
2 ?^ <^
^ ^ a,
■7^ Zi Ci-<
<^ 1^ 'r-l
O C o
o u « p ^"y p^
pn ^ <Ci P-i O K*
|
M |
'sO |
r-- |
0 |
ro |
-^ 'sh t^ |
fo 0 r~- -^ |
CO |
0 M |
to 00 |
i-i |
OD vo |
|
|
>^ |
lo |
vo |
vo |
i^ |
Lo, Lr^ -^ |
>^ u^ u^^ |
Lr^ |
'o vo |
^ r^- |
Ir- |
||
|
^ |
fc-i |
i-i |
t— ( |
>^ |
^ l-H l-( |
CO -< ►-. -< |
w- |
W-, ^ |
k-^ |
<-0 |
||
|
ri |
||||||||||||
|
0 |
C |
|||||||||||
|
<u |
rt |
|||||||||||
|
0 |
» |
1 |
« ri |
1 |
0 »-» »— t |
•'5 s |
t |
|||||
|
f— 4 p |
1 |
rt |
0 fcJG |
« |
7j |
0 J' |
0 4-J |
0 ^^ |
*-• rt |
». |
B |
|
|
*-^ |
rt |
w |
OiJ |
r! |
ni |
i=! |
||||||
|
«-5 Co |
0 |
0 |
s |
4-J 0 |
'c-C ■ri |
capa fufca capa ocuTis ula Ameri |
^ ^ rA .- "" ^ s .a S -l-J U ^-< |
0 ►>~. 0 |
cucullo ni American |
Carolinien do Cauda |
^H yj cr> =: :3 :3 0 3 3: |
|
|
0 '■4-1 |
i i -M |
""r^ ri CO •-■? C/5 U5 CD '1/5 f-< i-! ^^gbb^^bbb;b^ |
a re
CL, Cl,
'5 IS
rt .i; I I
.^ o
te^ '^
Ti
S
|
w |
p |
c |
|||
|
»— 1 |
P |
Ci |
ci |
||
|
cs |
0; |
0 |
^^ |
' r^ |
|
|
02 |
rt |
"ri |
0^ |
5-1 |
|
|
^:3 |
f— ' |
,J2 |
< |
> |
|
|
0 *-> |
rt |
u ■P |
(A) 3 |
to J3 |
CO |
|
C |
c If— < |
k-H |
rrj |
n: |
ri |
|
^^^PhP^ Ph |
KK 0
loo NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Befides thefe, we have, The Royiton crow. Corvus cornix. Crane. Ardea Canadenfis. Houfe fwallow. Kirundo ruftlca. Ground fwallow. Hirundo riparla. Greateft grey eagle.
Smaller turkey buzzard, with a feathered head, Greateft owl, or n'lQ-ht hawk. *
"Wet hawk, which feeds iiying. Raven. ^Vater pelican of the MiiTifippi, whofe pouch holds
a peck. Swan. Loon, Cormorant. Duck and Mallard. Widgeon.
Sheldrach, or canvas back. Black head. Ballcoot. Springtail.
Didapper, or Dopchick* Spoon billed duck. Vv'^atcr-witch. AVater-pheafant, Mow- bird. Blue Peter. Water wagtail. Yellovv^-legged fnipe. Squatting fnipe. Small plover, Whiftling plover. W^oodcock. Red bird, with black head, Vvlrgs and tail.
And dciibtlef, many otliers Tv'bich have iiOtyeJ; beendefcribcd and daifed.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. ici
To this catalogue of our indigenous animals, I will add 'a fhort account of an anomaly of nature, taking place fometimes in the race of negroes brought from Africa, who, though black them- Jfelves, have, in rare inftances, ^vhite children, cal- led Albinos. I have known four of thefe myfelt, and have faithful accounts of three others. The circum^ilances in which all the individuals agree are thefe. They are of a pallid cadaverous white, untinged with red, without any colored fpots or feams ; their hair of the fame kind of white, fhort, coarfe, and curled as is that of the negro ; all of them well formed, ftrong, healthy, perfect in their fenfes, except that of fight, and born of parents who had no mixture of white blood. Three of thefe Albinos were fifters, having two other full fillers, who were black. The ycungeft of the three was killed by lightning, at twelve years of age. The eldeil died at about 27 years of age, in child- bed, with her fecond child. The middle one is now alive in health, and has ilfae, as the eldeft had, by a black man, vs^hich iffue was black. They are uncomm.only fhrewd, quick in their apprehenfions and in reply. Their eyes are in a perpetual trem- ulous vibration, very weak, and much afFeded by the fun : but they fee much better in the night than we do. They are of the property of Col. Skip- with, of Cumberland. The fourth is a negro v/o- man, whofe parents came from Guinea, and had three other children, who v.'ere of their own color. She is freckled, her eye-fight fo weak that Ihe is obliged to wear a bonnet in the fummer ; but it is better in the night than day. She had an Albino child by a black man. It died at the age of a few v:(?;?ks, Thefe wsre the property of Col. Carter,
102 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
of Albemarle. A fj.xth inftance is a woman of the property of a Mr. Butler, near Pererfoiirgh. She is flout and robufl, has ifTue a daughter, jet black, by a black man, I am not iu formed as to her eye- fight. The feventh inuance is of a male belong- ing to a Mr. Lee of Cumberland. K s eyes are tremulous and weak. He is tall of ftatui'e., and now advanced in years. He is the only male of the Albinos which have come within my informa- tion. Whatever be the caufe of the dileafe in the fkin or in its colouring matter, which produces this change, it feems m>re incident to the female than male fex. To thefe I may add the mentioa of a negro m.an witliin my o\vn knowledge, born black, and of black parents ; on whofe chin, when a boy, a white fpot appeared. This continued to increafe till he became a man, by which time it had extended over his chin, lips, one cheek, the un- der jaw, and neck on that fide. It is of the Albi- no white, without any mixture of red, and has for feveral years been ftationary. " He is robuft and healtliy, and the change of color was not accom- panied with any fenfible difeafe, either general or topical.
Of our fifh and infeds there has been nothing like a full defcriptlon or collection. More of them are defcribed in Cateiby than in any other work. Many alfo are to be found in Sir Hans Sloane's Jamaica, as being common to that and this coun- try. The honey-bee is not a native of our conti- nent. Marcgrave indeed mentions a fpecies of honey-bee in Brazil. But this has no fting and is therefore different from the one we have, which refembles perfedly that of Europe. The Indians coQcur with us in the tradition that it was brought
NOTES ON VIRGINrA. 103
from Europe ; but v/hen, and by whom, we know not. The bees have generally extended them- felves into the country, a litrle in advance of the white fettlers. The Indians therefore call them the white man's fly, and confider their approach as indicating the app ;oach of the fettlements of the whites. A queilion here occurs, how far northwardly have thefe infeds been found ? That they are unknown in Lapland, I infer from Schef- fers information, that the Laplanders eat the pine bark, prepared in a certain way, inftead of tliofe things fweetened with fugar. < Hoc comedunt: * pro rebus faccharo conditis.' SchefF. Lapp. c. 1 8. Certainly if they had honey, it would be a better fubftitute for fugar than any preparation of the pine bark. Kalm tells us* the honey-bee can- not live through the winter in Canada. They furniih then an additional proof of the remarkable fac'l firft obferved by the Count de Buffon, and which has thrown fuch a blaze of light on the field of natural hiftory, that no animals are found in both continents, but thofe which are able to bear the cold of thofe regions where they probably join.
^^' u i2€.
QUERY VIL
A NOT ICE of ail that can Increafe the pro- grefs of human knowledge ? Under the latitude of this query, I will pre- fume it not improper nor unacceptable to furniih fome data for eftimating the climate of Virginia. Journals of obfervations on the quantity of rain, and degrees of heat, being lengthy, confufed, and too minute to produce general and diftinft ideas, I have taken five years' obfervatibns, to wit, from 1772 to 1777, made in Williamiburgh and its neighborhood, have reduced them to an average for every month in the year, and ftated thofe ave- rages in the following table, adding an analytical yiew of tlie winds during the {^iuq period.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
ic
|
, , |
1 |
1 " ■ |
I |
||||||||||||
|
rt |
r-- |
O 'CO i |
!>. |
'-Ir^oo -+10 r^-^'^ |
cr |
||||||||||
|
n |
CO |
r- ^ |
LO |
CO ; ^ M CO ^ N OS CO |
C-N |
||||||||||
|
H |
c<^ |
r» i CO |
^^ N j N j cr.j col coj col c-j j o^iKo I |
||||||||||||
|
^ |
VD - |
CO |
O O |
lOy OnI |
O r-l |
rj- OO O C\ |
|||||||||
|
2i |
-^h f^. |
CO |
P4 N |
N t-i |
CO CO |
fO 1 vo '-•'> i O 1 1 1 -h |
|||||||||
|
O O ON |
00 1 N lo |
N / t^ OC CO |
Lrv |
! N --1 i |
|||||||||||
|
•^ cr, c-^ |
»-i CO M |
CO N HH N |
CO |
^ |
CO |
||||||||||
|
CO |
CO |
CO |
CO rt <^ |
to CO |
t-" |
NC |
CO |
M-4 |
NO |
||||||
|
r- |
^ |
00 |
w^ C^ 00 |
C\ o |
GO |
L^ |
NO |
CN |
M |
||||||
|
CO |
CO |
i 1 1 |
i-( |
CA |
|||||||||||
|
1 1 |
1 1 1 1 1 |
||||||||||||||
|
Q |
"A |
M |
^1 ^ |
c^ |
t-- CO t>- |
On O I'VO |
o\ o :vo |
||||||||
|
0^ |
1^ |
t-i |
H-l |
-1 |
ri2 |
||||||||||
|
1— ( |
— |
I r . \ . ! |
|||||||||||||
|
W |
O w/oo CN«^-rhu->o|oo "^ |
T^- NO CO |
|||||||||||||
|
P-H HH C^ HI « M M CO fl l-< |
•-I l-l M |
||||||||||||||
|
00 |
1 I 1 |
r^ |
|||||||||||||
|
, |
rl |
rh 00 |
•<^ N CO |
LO |
O -H rf O |
00 |
>-i |
||||||||
|
W |
CO |
C4 CO |
Lo VO Tj- |
f- |
r^l Lo SO j «^ |
I-I |
*£! |
||||||||
|
PJ |
!>. f^ |
Tt- |
tI- |
MD Th |
^ N O J>- •-1 |
!>■ |
00 |
||||||||
|
ri- Lo |
^ |
'^ |
CO, CO |
^ u-, vo 1-- N |
CO |
^- |
|||||||||
|
'^ |
^ 1 |
1 |
II ( ' |
l^ |
|||||||||||
|
" |
eoM ONLor^i''5,>~i <^-,O.N.'^.'^,'-'l |
||||||||||||||
|
:zi |
t^-ivO -^j CO c< |
1^ |
-^ '=t- |
r- u> !>• vo HH 1 1 i 'VO |
|||||||||||
|
mIC I Hlr< |
H|C> |
hIt> |
Hl-t|Hlr^ |
m' 't |
w!c> 1 wlr« j c,|+ • " |
||||||||||
|
,J- |
r- |
-i- |
M |
O |
CO 1 ^« |
i-i |
n- |
<-o |
CO |
<^; 1^ |
|||||
|
V3 4-" |
rr |
•^r |
Ln |
vo |
r-- |
c- o^ |
oo |
i>- |
NO |
lO |
'^l^^ |
||||
|
(U 4-> |
1j <^' |
^ |
|||||||||||||
|
ho dJ |
'oj S |
O |
|||||||||||||
|
daily h |
renh rmo |
4-1 |
Hlr^ |
wl^ |
«K |
«I+ |
1 ^ |
||||||||
|
rt J:^ |
CO |
^ loo ivo |
col HM |
l>-iVO |
On' i-i |
'--1 ^\^ i |
|||||||||
|
Pi.'b |
c~> |
j^ |
rt-l UoVO i I---' !>•■ l>-'VO VO ' rM rh |
GO |
|||||||||||
|
1 1 1 1 |
/ , 1 |
OO |
|||||||||||||
|
1 e. |
52 ^ |
ctn 1 « 1 - 1 t- |
CO '-' ' f^- f^ [ r^ ■ CO |
||||||||||||
|
rt- 1^ 'CO r-> Vol ON |
u-,, vo col >-< 1 r^ o |
||||||||||||||
|
Fall rain |
O ONINO CO^ t^ '^- |
t- t-- VO jVO |CO ^ |
|||||||||||||
|
c^.S |
CO |
W col CO f^ 4- 4-' CN tJ-I col M 1 (S 1 rhj |
|||||||||||||
|
~ — |
, |
r^ 1 { |
|||||||||||||
|
j |
^ s ^'ihi-kli si |
||||||||||||||
|
1 |
1 — > |
p^ |
^' |
< |
s |
:3 1 — )^- |
S 1 |
< |
CO 1 |
Ol |
:z;i |
n 1 t~j |
B' |
o
ic6 KGTES ON VIRGINIA.
The rains of every month, (as of January, for iiiftance) throuorh the whole period of Years, were added feparately, and an average drawn from them. The coolcft and warmeil points cf th^ ilinie day in each rear of the period, v.'ere added feparately, and an average of the greateft cold and greateli heat of that day, was formed. Yrom tha averages of every day in the month, a general average for the whole month was formed. The point from which the wind blew, was obferved two or three times in every day. Thefe' obfcrva- tions, in the month of January, for inllance, throngh the whole period, amounted to 337. At 73 of thefe, the v^and was from the north ; at 47 from the north-eaft, &c. So that it will be eafy to fee in vvhat proportion each wind ufually prevails in each month ; or, taking the whole year, the total of obfcrvattons through the whole period^ having been 3698, it will be obferved that 611 cf them were from the north, 55 S from the uorth- call, Sic.
Though by this table it appears we have on an average 47 inches of rain annually, which is con- f.derably more than ufaally falls in Europe, yet from the information I have cGilected, I fuppofe we have a much greater proportion of funihine here than there. Perhaps It will be found, there are tv^ice as many cloudy days in the middle parts, of Europe, as in the United States of America. I mention the middle parts of Europe, becaufe my information does not extend to its northern or fouthern parts.
In an extenfive country, it will of courfe be ex- pected, that the climate is not the fame in all its parts. It is remarkable, that proceeding on the
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 107
fame paralel of latitude v/eftwardly, the climate becomes colder in like manner as when you pro- ceed nordiwardly. This continues to be the cafe till you attain the f.immit of the Alleghaney, Xvhich is the higheft land between the ocean and the Miffifippi, From thence, defcending in the i'dine latitude to the Miififippi, the change reverfes ; and, if we may believe travellers, it becomes war- mer there than it is in the fame latitude on the fea fide. Their telHmony is ftrengthened by the veget- ables and animals which fubfift and multiply there naturally, and do not on our fea-coail:. Thus ca- tcdpas grow fpdntaneoully on the Miilifippi, as far as the latitude of 37^, and reeds as far as 38^. Pcrroquets even winter on the Scioto, in the 30th degree of latitude. In the fummercf 1779, v;hen the thermometer was at 90^^ at Monticello, and 96 at Williamfburg, it was iio^. at Kafkailia. Per- haps the mountain, which overhangs this village on the north fide, may, by its reiie(51ion, have con- tributed fomewhat to produce this heat. The difference of temperature of the air at the fea- coail, or on the Chefapeak bay, and at the Allcg- Ikaney, has not been aicertained : but cotcmpora- ry obfervations, made at Vv^illiamfburgh, or in its neighborhood, and at Monticello, Vsdiich is on the moit eailern ridge of the mountains, called the South weft, wdiere they are interfered by the Ri- vanna, have furnilhed a ratio by which that dif- ference may in fome degree be conjectured. Thefe obfervations make the diiTerence between Williamf- burg and the nearefl mountains, at the pofition be- fore-mentioned, to be en an average 6^ degrees of Tarenheit's thermometer. Some allowance, how- even is to be made for the difference of latitude.
loS
NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
between thefe two places, the latter being 38^ 8^ 1 7", which Is 52' 22" north of the former. Ey co- temporary obfervatlons of between five and fix weeks, the averaged, and almoft unvaried differ- ence of the height of mercury in the barometer, at thofe two places, was. 784 of an inch, the atmof- phere at Monticello being fo mmch the lighted, that is to fay, about one-thirty-feventh of its whole weight. It Ihould be obferved, however, that the hill of Monticello is of 5C0 feet perpendicular height above the river which wafhes its bale. This pofition being nearly central between our northern and fouthern boundaries, and between the bay and Alleghaney, may be confidered as furnifhing the beft average of the temperature of our clim.ate. Williamfourg is much too near the foutli-eaftern comer to give a fair idea of our general tempera- ture.
But a more remarkable difference is in the winds \vhich prevail in the different parts of the country. The following table exhibits a com.parative view of the winds prevailing at Williamifburgh, and at Monticello. It is formed by reducing nine months obfervations at Monticello to four principal points, to wit, the north-eaft, fouth-eaft, fouth-weft, and north-wefi: ; thefe points being perpendicular to, or parallel with our coaft, mountains, and rivers : and by reducing in like manner, an equal num- ber of obfervations, to wit, 421 from the preceding table of v/inds at Williamfburgh, taking them proportionably from every point.
|
N.E.jS.E. S.W. |
N.W. lOI 172 |
Total. |
|
|
Wilhamlbiioh 0 |
127 22 |
61 j 132 91 1 126 |
|
|
iMonticeilo |
^ i |
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 109
By this it may be feen thiit the Ibuth-wcft v/ind prevails equally at both places ; that the north- eaft is, next to this, the principal wind towards the fea-coafl, and the north-weft is the predomin- ant wind at the mountains. The difference be- tween thefe two winds to fenfation, and in fad, is very great. The north-eaft is loaded with vapor, infomuch, that the lalt-makers have found that their cryftals would not llioot while that blows ; it brings a diftreffing chill, and is heavy and op- preffive to the fpirits : the north-weft is dry, cool- ing, elaftic and animating. The eaftern and fouth-eaPtern breezes come on generally in the af- ternoon. They have advanced into the country very fenfibly within the memory of people now living. They formerly did not penetrate far above Williamft)urgh. They are now frequent at Rich- mond, and every now and then reach the moun- tains. They depofit moft of their moifture how- ever before they get that far. As the lands become more cleared, it is probable they will extend ftill further weftward.
Going out into the open air, in the temperate, and warm months of the year, we often meet with bodies of warm air, which palling by us in two or three feconds, do not afford time to the moft fen- fible thermometer to feize their temperature. Judg- ing from my feelings only, I think they approach the ordinary heat of the human body. Some of them perhaps go a little beyond it. They are of about 20 or 30 feet diameter horizontally. Of their height we have no experience, but probably they are globular volumes wafted or rolled along with the wind. But whence taken, where found, or how generated ? They are not to be afcribed
2IO NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
to volcancs. becaufe we have none. They do not happen la the v/inter when the farmers kindle large fires in clearing up their grounds. They are not confined to the fpring feafon, when ws have fires v^hich traverfe whole countries, confum- juo- the leaves wliich have fallen from the trees. And they are too frequent and general to be af- cribed to accidental fires. J am perfuadcd their caufe muft be fought for in the atmolphere itfelf, to aid us in which I know but of thefe conitant circumftances ; a dry air ; a temperature as warm at lead as to that of the fpring or autumn ; and a moderate current of wind. They are moft fre- quent about fun-let : rare in the middle parts of the day ; and I do not recollect having ever met with them in the morning.
The variation in the weight of our atmofphere, as indicated by the barometer, is not equal to tvro inches of mercury. During twelve months obfer- vation at Williamfburg, the extremes were 29, and 33.86 inches, the difference being 1.86 of an inch : and in nine months, during which the height of ; the mercury was noted at Monticello, the extremes were 28.48 and 29.69 inches, the variation being 1.21 of an inch. A gentleman, who has obferved his barometer many years, afiures me it has never varied two inches. Cotemporary obfervations, made at Monticello and Williamiburgh, proved the variations in the weight of air to be fimultan- eous and correfponding in thefe two places.
Our changes from heat to cold, and cold to heat, are very fudden and great. The mercury in Farenhe;it's thermometer his been known to de- fcend from 92^ to 47° in thirteen hours.
It is taken for granted, that the preceding table ^f average heat will not give a fiilfe idea on this
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. in
iiibje(El, as it propofes to ftate only the ordinary heat and cold of each month, and not thofe v^hich are extraordinary. At Wiiliamiburgh in Augiiil 1766, the mercury in Farenheit's thermometer was at 98*^ correfponding with 29 and one third of lleaumur. At the fame place in January 1 780, it was 6^ correfponding with 11^ below c, of Reaumur. I believe* thefe may be confidered to be nearly the extremes of heat and cold in that part of the country. The latter may moil cer- tainly, as at that time, York River, at York town, vvas frozen over, fo that people walked acrofs it ; a circumftance which proves it to have been cold- er than the winter of 1740, 1 741, ufu ally called the cold winter, when York River did not freeze over at that place. In the fame feafon of 1780, Chefapeak bay was folid, from its head to the mouth of Patowmac. At Annapolis, where it is ^f miles over between the neareil points of land, the ice was from 5 to 7 inches thick quite acrofs, fo that loaded carriages went over on it. Thofe, our extremes of heat and cold, of 6° and 98° were indeed very diftreffing to us, and were thought to put the extent of the human conftitution to con- fiderable trial. Yet a Siberian would have con- fidered them as fcarcely a fenfible variation. At Jennifeitz in that country, in latitude 58° 27' we are told, that the cold in 1735 funk the mercury by Farenheit's fcale to 126° below nothing ; and tlie inhabitants of the fame country ufe flove
^ j^i Paris f in 1753, i^e mercury in Reanmiir^s thermometer ivas at 30^ above o, and in 1776, it 'zuns 16 beloiv o. The extremities of heat and cold therefore at Paris, are greater than at Williamjliir^h^ ivhich h in the hottejl part of Virginia.,
112 NOTES ON VIPvGlNIA.
rooms two or three times a week, In which they» ftay two hours at a time, the atmofphere of which raifes the mercury to 135° above nothing. Late experiments fhow that the human body will exift in rooms heated to 140° of Reaumur, equal to 347° of Farenhelt's, and 135° above boiling water. The hotteft point of the 24 hours Is about four o'- clock, P, M. and the dawn of day the coldefl.
The accefs of froft in autumn, and its recefs the fpring, do not feem to depend merely on the de- gree of cold ; much lefs on the air's being at the freezing point. White frofts are frevquent when the thermometer Is at 47° have killed young plant's of Indian corn at 48° and have been known at 54°. Black froft, and even Ice, have been produced at 38^°, which is 6i degrees above the freezing point. That other circumftances muft be com- bined with the cold to produce froft, Is evident from this alfo, on the higher parts of mountains, where it is abfolutely colder than in the plains on which they ftand, frofts do not appear fo early by a confiderable fpace of time in autumn, and go off fooner in the Spring than in the plains. I have known frofts fo fevere as to kill the Iiiccory trees round about Monticello, and yet not Injure the ten- der fruit blofToms then In bloora on the top andhigh- ^r parts of the mountain ; and in the courfeof 40 years, during which It has been fettled, there have been but two inftances of a general lofs of fruit on it: >vhile. In the circumjacent country, the fruit has el^ caped but tv/ice In the laft feven years. The plants of tobacco, which grow from the roots of thofc which have been cut off In the fummer, are fre- quently green here at Chrlftmas. This privilege againft the froft is undoubtedly combined with the
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. n-
want of dew on the mountains. That the dew is very rare on their higher parts, I may fay with certain- ty, from 12 years obfervations, having fcarceiy €ver, during that time, feen an unequivocal proof of its exiflence on them at all during fummer* Severe frofts in the depth of winter prove that the region of dews extends higher in that feafon than the tops of the mountains : but certainly, in the fummer feafon, the vapors, by the time they attain that height, are become fo attenuated as not to fubfide and form a dew when the fun retires.
The weavil has not yet afcended the high m.oun- tains.
A more fatisfadlory eftimate of our climate to fome, may perhaps be formed, by noting the plants which grow here, fubjecl: however to be kil- led by our fevereft colds. Thefe are the fig, pome- granate, artichoke, and European walnut. In mild v/inters, lettuce and endive require no Ihelter; but generally tliey need a flight covering. I do not know that the v/ant of long mofs, reed, myr- tle, fwamp laurel, holly and cyprefs, in^ tl^uppcr country, proceeds from a greater degree of cpld, nor that they were ever killed with any degree of cold in the lovver country. The aloe hved in Willi amfburgh, in die open air, through the fevere winter of 1779, 1780.
A change in our climate, hoAvever, is taking place very fenfibly. Both heats and colds are be- come much more moderate within the memory even of the middle-aged. Snows are lefs. frequent and lefs_ deep. They do not often lie, below the mountains, more than one, two, or three days, and very rarely a week. They are remembered to viaave been formerly frequentj deep, ^nd of long
114 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
continuance. The elderly inform me, the enrth afed to be covered with fnow about three months in every year. The rivers, which then feldom failed to freeze over in the courfe of the winter, fcarcely ever do fo now. This change has pro^ duced an unfortunate fluduation between heat and cold, in the fpring of the year, which is very fatal to fruits. From the year 1741 to 1769, an inter- val of twenty-eight years, there was an inftance of fruit killed by the froft in the neighborhood of Monticello. An intenfe cold, produced by con- ilant fnows, kept the buds locked up till the fun could obtain, in the fpring of the year, fo fixed ait afcendency as to dilfolve thofe fnows, and protedt the buds, during their developement, from every danger of returning cold. The accumulated mov/s of the winter remai-ninir to be diffolved alt
o
together in the fpring, produced thofe ovei*iiowings of our rivers, fo frequent then, and fo rare now.
Having had occafion to mention the particular fituation of Monticello for other purpofes, I will ju't take notice that its elevation affords an oppor- tunity of feeing a phsenomenon which is rare at land, thougii frequent at fea. The feamen call it looming. Philofophy is as yet in the rear of the feamen, for io far from having accounted for it, ihe has not given it name. Its principal effect is 10 make diitant objef^s appear larger, in oppofi- tion to the general law of vifion, by which they are diminiihcd. I know an inftance, at York- town, from whence the water profpe6t eallwardly is without termination, Vv-hercin a canoe with three men, at a great diftance was taken for a fhipwith its tliree mafts. I am little acquainted with the phi£nom;noii as it iliows itfelf at fca ; but at Mon-^-
J
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 115
ticello it is familiar. There is a folitary mountain about forty miles off in the fouth, whofe natural iljape, as prefented to view there, is a regular cone ; but, by the effeft of looming, it fbmetimes fub- fides almoft totally in the horizon ; fometimes it rifes more acute and more elevated ; fometimes it. is hemifpherical ; and fometimes its fides are per- pendicular, its top fiat, and as broad as its bafc. In ihort it affames at tim.cs the m.oil; wjumfical Ihapes, and all thefe perhaps faccefllvely in th-e iame morning. The Blue ridge X)f mountains com&s into view, in the north-eail, at about 100 miles diftance, and approaching in a dire^: line, pafies by within twenty miles, and goes off to th& fouth-weft. This phasnomenon begins to Ihow it- fclf on thefe mountains, at about 50 miles dillance and continues beyond that as far as they are feen. I remark no particular ftate, either in the weight, moifture, or heat of the atmofphere, neceffary to produce this. The only conilant circumfiances are its appearance in the morning only, and on objeds at leaft 40 or 50 miles diftant.' In this latter circumftancc, if not in both, it differs from the looming on the water. R.efraclion will not account for the metamorphofis. That only chan- ges the proportions of length and breadth, bafc and altitude, prefer ving the general outlines. Thus it may make a circle appear elliptical, raife or deprefs a ccne, but by none of its laws, as yet developed, will it make a circle appear a fquare, or a cone or a fphere.
QUERY VIII.
HE number of its Inhabitants ?
The following table fhews the number of per- fons imported for the eftablifhment of our colony in its infant ftate, and the cenfus of inhabitants at different periods, extracted from our hiftorians and public records, as particularly as I have had op- portunities and leifure to examine them. Succef- five lines in the fame year fhew fucceffive periods of time in that year. I have ftated the cenfus in two different columns, the whole inhabitants hav- ing been fometimes numbered, and fometimes the tythes only. This term, with us, includes the free males above i6 years of age, and flaves above that age of both fexes. A further examination of our records would render this hiftory of our pop- ulation much m.ore fatisfadory and perfe6l, by furnifhing a greater number of intermediate terms. Thofe however which are here ftated will enable us to calculate, with a confiderable degree of pre- cifion, the rate at which v/e have increafed. Du- ring the infancy of the colony, while numbers were fmall) wars, imxportations, and other acciden- tal circumftances render the progrefiion fluduat- ir>g and irregular. jBy the year 1654, however,
Years.
Settlers im-;Cenfas of In-
ported
1607
100
1608
1609
120
habitants.
|
I6I0 |
|
I61I |
|
l6i2 |
|
I6I7 |
|
I6I8 |
|
I6I9 1 62 1 |
|
1622 |
|
1628 |
|
1632 |
|
1644 |
|
1645 |
|
1652 1654 |
|
1700 1748 |
|
1759 1772 I':82 |
70
16
150
3 Ihip loads
300
80
200
40
1216
1300
40
130
J.00
60
200
AOO
000
3800 2500
3000
*;67j6i4
Cenfus of Tythes.,
2000
4822
50C0
7000
7209
22,000
2,100
105,000
153,000
iiS NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
it becomes tolerably unliorni, importations having: in a great meafure ceafed from the diiTohition of the company, and the inhabitants become too nu- merous to be fenfibly afFeiled by Indian wars. Beginning at that period, therefore, we find that from thence to the iyear 1772, our tythes had in- crealed from 7209 to 153,000. The whole term being of 1 1 8 years, yields a duplication once in every 27^ years. The intermediate enum.erations taken in 1 700, 1 748, and 1759, furnilh proofs of the uniformity of this progreffion. Should this race of incrcafe continue, we Ihall have between fix and ieven millions of inhabitants within 95 years. If "Vi^e fuppofe our country to be bounded, at fome future day, by the meridian of the mouth of the Oreat Kanhaway, (within which it has been be- fore conjectured, are 64,461 fquare miles) there will then be 100 inhabitants for every fquare mile, v/hich is nearly the uate of population in the JBritilh iflands.
Here I will beg leave to propofe a doubt. The prefent defire of America is to produce rapid pop- ulation by as great importations of foreigners as pofTible. But is this founded in good pohcy ? The advantage propofed is the multiplication of numbers. Now let us fuppofe (for example only) that, in this ftate, we could double our numbers in one year by the importation of foreigners ; and this is a greater acceffion than the moft fanguine advocate for emigration has a right to expe<5t. Then I fay, beginning with a double ftock, we fliall attain any given degree of population only 27 years and 3 months fooner than if we proceed on our fmgle ftock. If we propofe four millions and a half as a competent population for this
NOTES ON VmmNIA.
11^
Hate, we fhould be 54^ years attaining it, could we at once double our numbers ; and 8i| years^ if we rely on natural propagation, as may be iccn by the following table.
iProceeding on our j prefent (lock.
|
I78I |
567,614 |
|
i8o3 |
1,135,228 |
|
1835 |
2,270,456 |
Proceening on a double flock.
1,135,228
2,270,456 4,540,912
1862* 4,540,912
In tlie firft column are dated periods of 270 years ; in the fecond are our numbers, at each pe- riod, as they will be if we proceed on our a^ual flock ; and in the third are what they would be, at the fame periods, were we to fet out from the double of our prefent flock. I have taken the term of four millions and a half of inhabitants for examples fake only. Yet I am perfuaded it is a greater number than the country fpoken of, confidering how much inarable land it contains, can cloath and feed, without a material change in the quality of their diet. But are their no incon- , veniences to be thrown into the fcale againfl the ad- vantage expedled from a multiplication of num- bers by the importation of foreigners ? It is for the happinefs of thofe united in fociety to harmo- nize as much as pofTible in matters which they mufl of neccfTity tranfail together. Civil govern- ment being the fole object of forming focieties, its adminiftration mufl be conduced by common con- fent. Every fpecies of government has its fpecific principles. Ours perhaps are more peculiar thau
120 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
thofe of any otlier in the nnivcrie- It h a ccm-^ polition of the freefi; prmciples of the Englifh con- -ftitutian, with others derived from natural reafon. To thefe nothing can be more oppofed than the maxims of abfokite monarchies. Yet, from fach, we are to expect the greateft number of emigrants. They will bring with them the principles of the governments they leave, imbibed in their early youth ; or, if able to throw them oiF, it will be in exchange for an unbounded licentiouliiefs, paffing, as is ufual, from one extreme to another. It would be a miracle -were they to flop precifcly at the point of temperate liberty. Thefe principles, with their language, they will tranfmit to their children. In proportion to their numbers, they will fliire with us the legillation. They will in°
. fufe into it their fpirit, warp and bias its direc- tions, and render it a heterogenous, incoherent, diftracted mafs. I may appeal to experience, du- ring the prefent conteft, for a verihcation of thefe conjedures. But, if they be not certain in events, are they not poffible, are they not probable ? Is it not fafer to wait with patience 27 years a^d. three months longe, for the attainment of any degree of population defired or expedled ? May not our gov- ernment be more -homogeneous, more peaceable, more durable ? Siippofe 20 millions of republican Aihericans thrown all of a fudden, into France, what would be the condition of that kingdom f If It would be more turbulent, lefs happy, lefs ftrong, we may believe that the addition of half a million of foreigners to our prefent numbers would produce a fimiiar efte^il here.; . If they come them- felves, they are entitled to all the riglits of citizen-
«ij^ : but I doubt the expediency of inviting tlicza
NOTIlS on VIRGINIA. 1211^
hj extraordinary encouragements. I mean not that thefe doubts fhould J3e extended to the im- portation of ufeful artificers. The policy of that meafure depends on very different confi derations!! Spare no expence in obtaining 'them. They will after a while go to the plough and the hoe ; but, m the mean time, they will teach us fomethin^ we do not know. It is not fo in agriculture. TIi^ mdifferent ftate of that among us dees net pro- ceed from a want of knowledge merely • it is from, our having fjch quantities of land to w.Pe as we pleale. In Europe the objeffc is to make the molL ot their land, labor being abundant : here it IS to mxake the moU of our labor, land beino- o. bundant. *^
^ It will be proper to explain how the numbers lor the year 1782 have been obtained; a^ it was not froni a perfeft cenfus of the inhabitants. It wiil at the fame time develops the proDortion be- tween the free inhabitants and fiaves.' The foi lowmg return of taxable articles for that v-arw-.." given in. - . - i \% ..^
53*289 free males above 21 years of ao-e 2 1 1,698 flaves of all ages and fexes. ^"' 23>766 not diftinguiihed in the retm-ns, but ^aid
to be tytheable flaves. ^95^439 Iiorfes. ^^9>734 cattle.
5,126 wheels of riding-carriao-es. 191 taverns. ^
gania, Ohio, Northampton, and York. To find he number of Oaves which ftould ha-e been re- turned .nftead of the ^3,765 tytheables, wel.^ift
172 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.^
iTienticn that fome obfervations on a farmer cen- i"^is had given raaicn to believe that the numbers iibove and behow i6 years of age vrere equah xne double of this number, therefore, to v/it, 47^532 ir.uii: be added to 211,698, which will give us 255,2 3 o fiaves of all ages ^d fexes. To find the runiber of free inhabitants, we mule repeat the obfervation, that thofe above and below '16 are nearly equal. But as the number 53,289 omits the mxales belov/ 1 6 and 2 1 we muPc fupply them from conjecture. On a former experim-ent it had appeared that about one-third of our m.iiitia, that is, of the males bftweon 16 and 50, were unmar- ried. Knov/ing how early marriages takes place here, we {hall not be far wrong in fuppofmg that the unmarried part of our militia are thofe be- tween 16 and 21. If there be young men who do not marry till after 21, there are many who marry before that age. But as the m.en above 50 v/ere not included in the mihtia, v^^e vnli fuppofe the unmarried, or thof^ between 16 and 21, to be one-fourth of the whole number above 16, then we have the following calculation :
^3,289 free males above 21 years cf age.
17,763 free males between 16 and 2 i»
71,052 free males under 16. 142,104 free males of all ages.
; 284,208 free inhabitants of all ages<
' ? 59,2 30 fiaves of all ages.
'"543^^8 inhabitants, exclufive of the 8 counties
from which were no returns. In thefe 8 counties
in the years 1779 and 1780, were 3,161 militia,
Say then, ,
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 123
3,161 free males above the age or 16, 3,161 ditto under 16. 6,^,22 free females. ""~T2T644free inhabitants in thefe 8 counties. To find the number of ilaves, fay, as 284,208 to -59,230, fo is 12,644 to 11,532- Acklmg the third of thefe numbers to the firft, and the iourta to the fecond, we have, 296, 852 free inhabitants. 270,762 (laves. ' c67,6iTinhabitants of eve-y age, fex, and con- dition. But 296,852, the number of free mnaDic- ants, are to 270,762, the number ot (laves, n.any as II to 10. Under the- mild treatment our flaves experience, and their wholefome, thouga coarfe, food, this blot in our country mcreaies as fad, or filler, than the whites. During the regal ejovernment, we had at one time obtained a law ,_ which imoofed fuch a duty on the importation or fiaves, as amoimted nearly to a prohibition, when . one Inconfiderate ailembly, placed under a pecu- liarity of circumulance repealed the Luv. ' 1 his re- peal met a joyful ianclion from the then fovereign, and no devices, no expedients, which could ever after be attem.pted by fubfequent afiembhes, ana they feldom met without attempting them, couia facceed in getting the royal aiTent to a renevv^ai o.; the ■duty, "in the very firft felfion held untler^tne republican government, the aiTembly palled a ur.v for the perpetual prohibition of the importation ot flaves. This will in fome meafure (lop the increale of this great pohtical and moral evil,^v/hiie t.re minds of our citizens may be ripening for a con> plete emancipation of human nutur^, ^
QUERY IX.
■•< ■<<»j->- >••>•■
HE number and condition of the militia and
regular troops, and their pay r
The following is a flate of the militia, taken
fi-oni returns of 1780 and 1781, except in thofe
counties marked with an alteriilc, the reiuins from
"ivhich is fomewhat older.
Every able bodied freeman, between the ages of 16 and 50 is enrolled in the mihtia. Thofe of ev- ery county ai*e fcrm.ed into companies, and thefe a^:^ain into one or more battalions, according to ihe number in the county. They are commanded by colonels, and other fabordinate officers, as in the legular fervice. In every county is a county-lieu- tenant, who commands the whole militia of his county, but ranks only as a colonel in the field. Vve have no general ofncers always cxifting. Tliefe are appointed occafionally, when an inva- fion or infurreclion happens, and their commdllion determines with the occailion. The governor is ]iead of the military, as well as civ^il power. The ]:iVv'- requires every miilitia man to provide himfelf v^idi the arms ufual in the regular fervice. But .tjiis injunction was always indiiferently complied •with, and tlie arms tliey had liave beenfo fi-equentiy called for to arm the regulars, that in the lower parts of the country they are entirely difarmed. In the middle country a lourtxi or fifth part of them -:iay have fuch firelocks as they had provided to ajiwioy the .".oxious ajiimals which iriell their
[Sikuiiio. 1 Cctirj'tes.
Lincoln jelferfon
Fayette Ohio
re b-o ^ Mcnono-alia
CJ "^^
O CO
=3 -a
o
«
4-1 ^
iWalluiigtoii ! Montgomery
iGreenbiiar
I
Hamninire
Berkley
Frederic
Shenando
Rockineliam
Augufta
Rockbridge
Botetourt
CO M
P -y
o
Loudoun
Faquier
Culpepper ,
Spotfylvanla
Orange
Louifa
Goochland
Fluvanna
Albemarle
Amherit
Buckincrham
o
Bedford Henry Pittfylvania Halifax Charlotte . FrinceEdward Cumberland Powhatan Amelia Lunenburg Mecklmburg Brunfwic
mutia.
6oo 300 156
*ICCO
1071 502
*IIOO
^925
875
1375 *625
*7oo
1746 1078
15^3
480
*6oo 603
^73 896
*625
1300
1004
^725
*ii39
612
589
408
330
*II25
677
11 00
559
|
situation. \ |
Counties. |
MilithiA |
|
|
, |
Greenfville |
500 |
|
|
Dinwiddie |
*75o |
||
|
Chefterfield |
^55 |
||
|
N |
0^ <^ ON |
Prince George Surry SuH'ex Southampton iile of White |
3(52 3 Bo *7co 874 *6oo |
|
q |
C/5 . |
Naniemond |
*644 |
|
6\ |
s |
;^rfolf |
*88o |
|
1-4 |
Prince/s Anne A |
*594 619 |
|
|
Henrico |
|||
|
> |
Hanover |
706 |
|
|
< {a! |
c'^ : |
ivlew Kent |
*4i8 |
|
^ o o |
Charles City James City WiUiamfburg York |
286 129 *244 |
|
|
5 |
s |
Warwick |
*IOO |
|
< en k; u< H < |
Elizabeth City |
182 805 436 500 468 *2XO |
|
|
Caroline King William King & Queen ElTex Middlefex |
|||
|
0 r— • |
iGloucefter |
850 |
|
|
1 Fairfax |
652 |
||
|
u |
FrinceWiiliam |
614 |
|
|
H |
Stafford |
*50o |
|
|
o |
5! ^ "^ |
'King George Richmond Wcftmor eland |
4«3 412 544 |
|
B§ |
North umberl. |
630 |
|
|
j |
JLancader |
302 |
|
|
Accomak .Northampton 1 |
'*I2CS *43o |
||
|
Ux7i.,„U T\T:1N."-, r>-'^-'-'= ,'^^Tt- |
e, 4997 I |
NOTES ON VIRGINIA 127
forms ; and on the weflern fide of the Blue rido-e they are generally' armed with rilles. The pa/ of our militia, as well as ofrour regulars, is that of the continental regulars. The condition of our regulars, of whom we have none but continentals, and part of a battalion of ftate troops, is fo con- ftantly on the change, that a ftate of it at this day would not be its Rate a month hence. It; is much the fame with the condition of the other continen- tal troops, which is well enough known.
r •=*^fnr''^*itifnr— * I ' ■ **"' ■ n ■—n ■■TnTiiFTBi
C)UERY X.
:<-<-<!^>:>->-
HE marine ?
Before the prefent Invafion of this ftate by the Britilh under the command of General Phillips, we had three veifels of 16 guns, i of 14, live fmall gaiiies and two or three armed boats. They were generally fo badly manned as feldom to be in condition for fervice. Since the perfed pofleflion of our rivers aftumed by the enemy, I believe v/e are left with a fmgle armed beat only.
i«— i»^m,iL t> '-nit-,um.j^» I ijn
qUERY XI.
■•<••<•■■<*;>.>.>..
A DESCRIPTION of the Indians eftabliTaed m that ft ate ? When the firft effectual fcttlemeat of onr colo- ny was made, which was In 1607, the country from the fea-coaft to the mountains, and from Po- towmac to the moO: fouthem waters of James' River, was occupied by upwards of forty diifer-nt tribes of Indians. Of thefe the Po'tuhafans, the Mannahoacs, and Mo7iacans, were the moft power- ful. Thofe between the fea-coaft and falls of the Mvers, were In amity with one another, and at- tacned to the Fc-vhatans as their link of union Thofe between the falls of the rivers and the mcontams, were divided Into two confederacies • the tribes inhabiting the head waters of Potowmac and Rappahannoc being attached to the Manna^ fjoacs; and thofe on the upper parts of Tames'" River^ to the Monacans. But the MonacL and their iriends^ were in amity with the Mannahoacs and taeu' inenas and waged joint and perpnual war agamft the Powhaians. ' We are told that the Po'w.atans, Mannahoacc. and Mo7iacans, fpoke Ian- guages fo radically different, that interpreters were necefTary when they tranfa<5led bufmefs Hence we may conjeaure, that this was not the cafe between all the tribes, and probably that each .poke the language of the nation to which it was attached ; which we know to have been the cafe .in many particular inftances. Very poffibly there
|
- |
|||||
|
IVarr'wrs. |
■ ■ |
f |
|||
|
# |
ji6c7[i669 |
• |
|||
|
bington's |
j 40 1200 2o7 100 |
' By the name of Mat - chotics. U» Matcho- <[ dicNan%attcos .Nan- |
|||
|
- |
60 |
zatico. ylppamatlox |
. |
||
|
^ Matox. |
|||||
|
100 |
30 |
||||
|
80 |
0 40 |
hy thi name of Totuf- |
|||
|
: |
30 |
heys. |
|||
|
130 |
70 |
||||
|
30 |
|||||
|
150 |
60 |
||||
|
-« |
30 |
20 |
|||
|
' |
300 |
50 |
CO |
||
|
1 |
40 |
< |
|||
|
fbj |
±L |
■ - » 1 1 |
W |
||
|
- |
60 |
||||
|
250 |
60 |
||||
|
h |
40 30 |
10 |
|||
|
100 40 |
15 |
||||
|
- |
45 20 |
15 |
A. ■ |
||
|
"' |
"(So |
50 |
1669 |
||
|
k |
25 |
3 Po- Nottaways |
|||
|
rhicSjMeherrics ■ |
90 |
||||
|
eft branch |
2CO |
45 |
Tuteloes j |
50 |
|
|
er |
100 |
||||
|
40 |
|||||
|
80 |
, J |
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 129
Riay have been anciently three diiFerent Hocks, each of which multiplying in along courfe of time, had feparated into fo many little focietie?. This pradice refiilts from the circum.ftance of their having never fubmltted themfelves to any laws, any coercive pow- er, any fhadow of government. Their only con- trols are their manners, and that moral fenfe of right and -wrong, which, like the fenfe of tailing and feeling, in every man miakes a part of his na- ture. An offence againfi: thefe is punifhed by contempt, by excliifion from foclety, or, where the cafe is ferious, as that of murder, by the individu- als whom it concerns. Imperfed as this fpecies of coercion may feem, crimes are very rare amono- them ; infomuch that were it made a queifioif, whether no law as among the favage Americans, or too m.uch law, as among the civilized Europe- ans, fubmits man to the greateft evil, one who has feen both conditions of exiftence would pronounce it to be the lad : and that the ilieep are happier of themfelves, than under the care of the wolves. It will be faid, that great focieties cannot exift with- out government. The favages therefore break them into fmall ones.
The territories of the Poivhatan confederacy, fouth of the Potowmac, comprehended about 8000 fquare miles, 30 tribes, and 2400 warriors. Capt. Smith tells us, that within 60 miles of James* town w^ere 5000 people, of whom 1500 were war- riors. From this w^e find the proportion of their warriors to their whole inhabitants, was as 3 to 10. The Powhatan confederacy then would confiil of about 8000 inhnbitants, which was one for every Iqi^are mile ; being about the twentietJi part cf our R
NORTH.
Tribes.
Between
and iRappahakoc,
,\^nionkenties
!
jTegnlnaties
Ontoonies
I .Tauxhanians!
[Haffinungaes
Betvreen L. i •
, : oteearakies
^1 .bhackaKonies
,^" , Manahoacks lorfc.
Befsreen York and
:Monacans
MANNAHOACS.
Country,
Fauquier
Culpeper
Orange
Fauquier
Culpeper
Orange
Spotfylvania
Staftord.Spotfylvan.
Chief Toivns.
Wi
1607I1669
MONACANS.
James R. above the Fork of James R, [falls
James. " i Monaficcapanoes \ Louifa. Fluvanna
Between
James
and
Carolina.
MonahafTanoes
Maffinacacs
Mohemenchoe:
Bedford. Bucking- Cumberland £ham Powhatan
3°
POWHATANS.
This Table to be placed between, Pages 128 and 129.
Tribes. Tauxenents Patowomekes Cuttatawomans Piflafecs Onaumanlents Rappahanocs Moraughtacunds Secacaonies Wighcocomicoes iCuttatawomans Nantaughtacunds Mattapopoments Pamunkies jWerowncomicos Payankatonks
jYoughtanunds
Chickahominies
Powhatkns
Arrohatocks
Weanocs
Pafpaheghes
Chifkiacs
Kecoughtans
Appamattocs
Quiocohanoes
Warrafqueaks
Nafajnonds
Chefapeaks
Accohanocks
Accomacks
"southT
Connlry.
Fairfax
Stafford. King George
King George
King Geo. Richmond
Weftmoreland
Richmond county
Lancafter. Richmond
Northumberland
Northumberland
Lancafter
ElTex. Caroline Mattapony River King William Gloucefter Piarkatank River
Pamunkey River
Chickahominy River
Henrico
Henrico
Charles city
Charles city. James city.
York
Elizabeth city
Chdl:7rfield
Surry
Ifle of "Wight
Nanfemond
Princefs Anne
Accom. Noi thampton
Northampton
Chief Toivm.
About General Waliington's Patowmac creek About Lamb creek Above Leeds town Nomony River Rappahannoc creek Moratico River Coan River Wicocomico River Corotoman
Port tobacco creek
Romuncock ^
About Rofewell \ Turks ferry. Gnmefty
Orapaks i
Powhatan. Mayo's
Arrahatocs
Weynoke »
Sandy point
Chifkiac
Rofcows
Bermuda hundred
About Upper Chipojfk
Warrafqueoc
About the mouth ofWeft branch
About Lynhaven Ri^rer
Accohanoc River. !
About Cherilon's
Warriors. 1607J1669
|
40 |
|
|
200 |
|
|
-1 |
60 |
|
100 |
|
|
100 |
30 |
|
80 |
40 |
|
■30 |
|
|
130 |
70 |
|
30 |
|
|
150 |
60 |
|
30 |
20 |
|
300 |
50 |
|
40 |
|
|
ss |
|
|
60 |
|
|
250 |
60 |
|
40 |
10 |
|
30 |
|
|
100 |
15 |
|
40 |
|
|
45 |
15 |
|
20 |
|
|
60 |
•JO |
|
2? |
cjPo- |
|
[hies |
|
|
2CO |
45 • |
|
100 |
|
|
40 |
By the name of Mat -^ chotics. U. Matcho- dicNanzaticos . Nan- zatico. jippamattox _ Matox.
by tht name of Totuf- keys.
Nottaways Meherrics ■ Tuteloes
1669
90 50
««|F-;..rffc>4
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 129
Kiay have been anciently three difFerent ftocks,each df which multiplying in along courfe of time, had feparated into io many little focietic^. This pradice refults from the circumxilance of their having never fubmitted themfelves to any lavv^s,any coercive pow- er, any fhadov/ of government. Their only con- trols are their manners, and that moral fenfe of right and-wrong, which, like the fenfe of taftincj and feeling, in every man makes a part of his na^ tare. An offence againfl thefe is punilhed by . contempt, by exclnfion from fociety, or, where the cafe is ferious, as that of murder, by the individu- als whom it concerns. Imperfefl as this fpecies of coercion may feem, crimes are very rare amono- them ; infomuch that were it made a queaioi?, whether no law as among the favage Americans, or too much law, as among the civilized Europe- ans, fubmits man to the greated evil, one who has feen both conditions of exigence would pronounce it to be the laft : and that the {liesp are happier of themfelves, than under the care of the wolves. It will be faid, that great focieties cannot exift with- out government. The favages therefore break them into fmall ones.
The territories of the Poivhatan confederacy, fouth of the Potowmac, comprehended about 8coo fquare miles, 30 tribes, and 2400 vvarriors. Capt. Smith tells us, that within 60 miles of James* town were 5000 people, of whom 1500 were war- riors. From this we find the proportion of their warriors to their whole inhabitants, was as 3 to 10. The Powhatan confederacy then would confill of about 8000 inhnbitants, which was one for every fquare mile 5 being about the twentietii part of our R
130 NOTES ON VIRGINIA,
prefent population m the fame territory, and the hundredth of that of the BritiOi iflands.
Befides thefe, were the Noifaways, living on Nottoway River, the MeJjerrws and Tuteloes on Meherrin River, who were conneded with the In- dians of Carolina, probably wit3i the Chowanocs.
The preceding table contains a ftate of thefe icveral tribes, according to their confederacies and geopraphical fituation, with their numbers when we fird became acquainted witli them, where thefe numbers are known. The numbers of them are 'igain ftated as they were in the year 1669, when an attempt was made by the affembly to enume- rate them. Probably the enumeration is imper- fect, and in fome meafure conjedural, and that a further fearch into the records would furnilh many more particulars. What would be the melancho- ly fequel of their hiftory, may however be argued from the cenfus of 1669 ; by which we difcover that the tribes therein enumerated were, in the fpace of 62 years, reduced to above one-third of their former numbers. Spirituous liquors, the fmall-pox, v/ar and an abridgement of territory, to a people who lived principally on the fpontane- ous produtflions of nature, had com.mitted terrible liavock among them, which generation, under the obftacles oppofod to it among them, was not like- ly to make good. That the lands of this country were taken from them by conqueft, i^ not fo gen- eral a truth as is fuppofed. I find in our hillori- ans, and records, repeated proofs of purchafe, which cover a confiderable part of the lov/er country ; and many more vrould doiibtlefs be found on further fearch. The upper country we know has been acquired altogether by purchafes ' made in the mod unexceptionable form--
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 131
Weflward of all tliefe tribes, beyond the moun- tains, and extending to the great lakes, were the Mdjfaivomees, a moil powerful confederacy, who harraiFed unremittingly the Ponvhatans and Man- ahoacs. Thefe were probably the anceftors of tribes known at prefent by the name of the 5/.v Nations.
Very little can now be difcovered of the fubfe. quent hillory of thefe tribes fevcrally. The Chickahominles removed about the year 1 661, to Mattapony River. , Their chief, with one from ,€ach of the tribes of the Pamunkies and Mattapo- nies, attended the treaty of Albany in 1685. I'his feems to have been the laft chapter in their hiilo- ry. They retained however their feparate name fo late as 1705, and were at length blended with the Pamunkies and Mattaponies, and exift at pref- ent only under their names. There remain ol the Mattaponies three or four men only, and they have more negro than Indian blood in them. They have loft their language, have reduced themfelves, by voluntary fales, to about ffcy acres of land, which lie on the river of their own name, and have from time to time been ioininp- the Pamun-
Jo
kies, from v»'hom they are diftant but 10 miles.. The Pamunhes are reduced to about 1.0 or 12 men, tolerably pure from mixture with other col- ors. The older ones among them preferve their language in a fmall degree, which are' the laft Veftiges on earth, as far as we know, of the Pow- liatan language. They have about 300 acres of very fertile Lmd, on Pamunkey River, fo encom- paifed by water that a gate fnuts in the whole. Of the Nottaways, net a male is left, A few women .conftitute the remains of that tribe. They ar^
ir- NOTj:S ON VIRGINIA.
feated on the Nottaway River, in Soutliampton county, on very fertile lands. At a very early period, certain lands were marked out and appro- priated to thefe tribes, and were kept from en- croachment by the authority of the laws. They have ufually had truftees appointed, whofe duty \vas to vvv.tch over their intereils, and guard them from infult and injury.
The Minacans and their friends, better known latterly by the name of the Tufcaroras, were prob- ably connected with the Mafl^awomees, or Five Nations. For though we are* told their lan- G-uages were fo different that the intervention of interpreters v«is neceifary between them, yet do we alfof learn that the Erigas, a nation formerly in- habiting on the Ohio, were of the fame original frock with the Five Nations, and that they partook 'Aio of the Tufcarora Language. Their diale^is might, by long feparatioii, have become fo unlike as to be unintelligible to one another. We know that in 1712, the Five Nations received the Tuf- caroras into the-ir confederacy, and made them the Sixth Nation. They received the Meherrins and Tuteloes alfo into their protection : and it is mofi: probable, that tlie remains of many other of the trib@s, of whom we find no particular account, re- tired weftwardlv in like manner, and were incor- porated with one or other of the weftern tribes. (5)
I know of no fuch thing exifting as an Indian monument : for I would not honor with that name arrow points, ftone hatchets, ftone pipes, and half- ihapen images. Of labor on the large fcale, I tiiink there is no remain as refpeaable as would be a common ditch for the draining of lands, unlefs
* Smith, f Evans.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA 553
iadeed it would be the Barrows, of which many- are to be found all over in tlils country. Thefe are of different fizes, fome of them conitrucled of earth, and fome of loofe ftones. That they were repofitories of the dead, has been obvious to all : but on what particular occafion conPcrudied, was a matter of doubt. Some have thought they covered the bones of thofe Vv^ho have fallen in bat- tles fought on the fpot cf mterment. Some af- cribed them to the cultom, faid to prevail among the Indians, of colledting, at certain periods the bones of all their dead, wherefoever depofited at the time of death. Others again fuppofed them the general fepulchres for towns, conjedured to have beed on or near thefe grounds ; and this o- pinion was fupported by the quality of the lands m which they are found, (thofe conftrudted of earth being generally in the fofteil and moif fer~ tile meadow-grounds on river fides) and by a tra- dition, faid to be handed down from the aborigin- al Indians, that, when they fettled in a town, the firft perfon who died was placed erei5l,and earth put about him, fo as to cover and fupport him ; that when another died, a narrow paliage was dug to the firft, the fecond reclined againit him, and the cover of earth replaced, and fo on. There being one of thefe in my neighborhood, I wifhed to fat- isfy myfelf whether any, and which of thefe opin- ons were juft. For this purpofe I determined to open and examine it thoroughly. It was fituated on the low grounds of the Rivanna, about two miles above its principal fork, and oppofite to fome hills, on which had been an Indian town. It was of a fpheriodical form, o£, about 40 feet diameter at the bafe, and had been of about twelve feet al-
134 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
titude, though now reduced by the plough to fev- en and a half, having been under cultivation a- bout a dozen years. Before this it was covered with trees of twelve inches diameter, and round the bafe was an evacuation of five feet depth and width, from whence the earth had been taken of wliich the hillock was formed, I firfl dug fuperfi- cially in feveral parts of it, and came to collections ot human bones, at different depths, from fix inch- es to three feet below the furface. Thefe were ly- ing in the utmoil confufion, fome vertical, fome oblique, fome horizontal, and direded to every point of the compafs, entangled, and held togheth- er in clufters by the earth. Eones of the moft diftant parts were found together, as, for inftance, the fmail bones of the foot In the hollow of the fcull ; many fcuUs would fometimes be in contad, lying on the face, on the fide, on the back, top or bottom, fo as, on the whole, to give the idea of bones emptied promifcuoufly from a bag or bafket, and covered over with earth, v/Ithout any attention to their order. The bones of which the greatefl: numbers remained, were fculls, jaw-bones, teeth, the bones of the arms, thighs, legs, feet, and hands. A few ribs remained, fome vertebrae of the neck and fpine, without their procelTes, and one inftance only of the * bones which ferves as a bafe to the vertebral column. The fculls were fo tender, that they generally fell to pieces on being touched. The other bones were flronger. There were fome teeth which were judged to be fmaller than thofe of an adult ; a fcull which on a flight view, appear- ed to be that of an infant, but it fell to pieces on being taken out, fo as to prevent fatisfadlory ex»
" ■ iMwuwa— M^w^— — »■ III I Ml 11 L MM m^mm^mmammmmm^itamm Mi^MWMMaM^Hi^MiMa
»-■.■■■■■-■ — ■■.■-—■ ^, .,.■, ■ I -.- -. I ■ , — -p^ I ■ I. ■ ■ I ■ ■ ■■». w ■■■ »^m^
* TJi>e OS facrum.
NOTES ON VIHGINIA. 13^
d.minatloii ; a rib, and a fragment of the under jaw of a perfon about half grown ; another rib of an infant, and part of the jaw of a child, which had not cut its teeth. This lall furnifhing the mod decifive proof of the burial of children here, I was particular in my attention to it. It was part of the right half of the under jaw. The pro- ceifes, by which it was articulated to the temporal bones, were entire, and the bone itfelf firm to where it had been broken off, which, as nearly as I could judge, was about the place of the eye-tooth. Its upper edge, wherein would have been the fock- ets of the teeth, was perfedlly fmooth. Meafurinf^* it with that of an adult, by placing their hinder proceifes together, its broken end extended to the penultimate grinder of the adult. This bone was white, all the others of a fand color. The bones of infants being foft, they probably decay fooner, which might be the caufe fo few were found here, I proceeded then to make a perpendicular cut through the body of the barrow, that I might ex- amine its internal fl:ru6ture. This pafTed about tliree feet from its center, was opened to the form- er furface of the earth, and was wide enojugh for a man to walk through and examine its fides. At the bottom, that is, on the level of the circumja- cent plain, I found bones ; above thefe a few ftones, brought from a cliff a quarter of a mile off, and from the river one-eighth of a mile oft ; then a large interval of earth, then a ftrantum of bones, and fo on. At one end of the feclion were four flrata of bones plainly diftlnguilhable ; at the oth- er, three ; the flrata in one part not ranging with thofe in another. The bones neared the furface were lead decayed. No holes were difcovered m
J 36 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
any of them, as if made with bullets, arrows, or other weapons. I conj enured that in this barrow might have been a thoufand ikeletons. Every one will readily feize the circumdances above related, which militate againft the opinion, that it covered the bones only of perfons' fallen in battle ; and againft the tradition alfo, which would make it the common fepulchre of a town, in which the bodies were placed upright, and touching each other. Appearances certainly indicate that it has derived both origin and grov.-th from the accuiiomary collection of bones, and depofition of them togeth- er ; that the firft colkaion had been depofited on the common furface of the earth, a few ftones put over it, and then a covering of earth, that the fee- end had been laid on this, had covered more or lefs of it in proportion to the number of bones, and was then alfo coverd with earth ; and fo on. The following are the particular circuffPcances which give it this afped. i. The number of bones. 2. Their confufed pofition. 3. Their being in different ftrata. 4. The ftrata in one part having 210 correfpondence with thofe in another. 5.*The defferent ftates of decay in thcfe ftrata, which feem to Indicate a difference in the time of inhumation. 6. The exiftence of infant bones among them.
But on whatever occafion they may have been made, they are of confiderable notoriety among the Indians : for a party paffing, about thirty years ago, tl:rough the part of the country where this barrow is, went through the woods direcftly to it, without any inftrudions or enquiry, and having ftaid about it fome time, with expreffions which were con- flrued to be thofe of forrow, they returned to the high road, which they had left about half a
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 137^
dozen miles to pay this vifit, 'and purfued their jotirney. There is another barrow much refem- hl'mg this, in the low grounds of the fouth brancli of Shenandoah vrhere it is croiled by the road leading from the Rockfifli gap to Staunton, both of thefe have within thefe dozen years, been clear- ed of their trees and put under cultivation, are much reduced in their height, and fpread in width by the plough, and will probably difappear in time. There is another on a hill in the Blue ridge of _ mountains, a few miles north of Wood's gap, which is made up of fmall ftones thrown to- gether. This has been opened and found to con- tain human bones, as the others do. There are alf© m.any others in other parts of the country.
Great queftlon has arifen from whence came thofe aboriginals of America ? Difcoveries, long ago made, wefe fufficient to Hiow that a pafFage from Europe to America was always praaicable» even to the imperfea: navigation of ancient times. In going from Norway to Ireland, from Ireland to Groenland, from Greenland to Labrador, the firft trajed: is the widefi; : and this having been pradifed from the e-arlieft times of which we have any account of that part.of the earth, it is not dif- ficult to fuppofe that the fubfequent trajefts m.ay have been fometimes pafied. Again, the late dif- coveries of Captain Cook, coaTling from Kam- fchatka to California, have proved that if the two continents of Afa and America be feparated at all, it is only by a narrow ftraight. So that from this iide alfo, inhabitants may have paffed into America : and the refemblance between the In- dians of America aiid the eaftern inhabitants of' Aiui, would induce us to conjecture, that the for?
u
13S' NOTES OmaRGINIA.
mer are the defceiidants of the latter, or the latter of the former : excapting indeed the EOiimaiix,; who, from the f ime circumftanccs of refemblance, and from indentity of language, "mufl: be derived from thQ Gi'oenlandei^, and thefe probably from ibme of the tiortheni parts of the old continent, A knowledge of their federal languages would be the moft certain evidence of their derivation which could be produced. In faft, it is the bed proof of the affinity of nations which ever can be refer- red to. How many ages have elapfed fince the Engliih, the Dutch, the Germans, the Swifs, the Norwegians, Danes and Swedes have feparated from their common ftock? Yet' how many more mudelapfe before the proofs of their common ori- gin, which exift in their feveral languages, will difappear ? It is to be lamented then, very much to be lamented, that we have fufrered fo many ot the Indian tribes already to extinguim, without our having previoufiy colle<51ed and depofited in the records of literature, the general rudiments at leaft of the languages they fpoke. Were vocabu- laries formed of alt the languages fpoken in North and South America, preferving their appellations of the mod common obji^cls in nature, ot thofe which mud be prefent to evei^ nation -barbarous- vr civiHzed, \vith the inflexions of their nouns and verbs, their principles of regimen and concord, and thefe depofited in all the public libraries, it ^\^uld furnifh opportunities to thofe fkilled in the languages of the old world to compare them with thefe, now, or at any future time, and hence" to conftruct tlie bed evidence of the derivation ofthi? -part of the Ir^iman race.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 539
But imperfeft as Is our knowledge of the tongr.es Ipoken in America, it fuffices to difcover the fol- lowinG' remarkable fatfl. Arran^iriC them under
o . 00.
the radi<:al ones to which they may be palpably traced and doing the fame by thofe of the red men of A^a, there vvill be fomid probably twenty in America, for one in Afia, of thofe radical lan- guages, fo called becaufe, if they y/ere ever the fame they have loft all refernblance to one another. A feparation into dialects may be the work of -.i few ages only, but for two dialec^ls to recede from one another till they have loft all veftiges of their common origin, muft require an immenfe courfe of time ; Derhaos not lefs than manv people s;ivc to the age of the earth. A greater numJjer of tliofe radical changes of language having taken place among the red men of America, proves them of greater antiquity than thofe of Afia.
I will now proceed to ftate tl^e nations and num- bers of the Aborigines which ftill exift in a refpec- table and Independent form. And as their unde- fined boundaries would render it difficult to fpeci- fy thofe only which may be within any certain limits, and it may not be "unacceptable to prefent a more general view of them, I will reduce witliiii the form of a catalogue all thofe wltliin, and cir- cumjacent to, the United States, whofe names and numbers have come to my notice. Thefe are taken from four d liferent Hfts, the iirft ofvrhich was given In the year 1759 ^^ general Stanwix by George Croghan, deputy agent for Indian af- fairs under Sir William Johnfon ; the fecond was drawn up by a French trader of confiderable note, refident among the Indians many years, and an- nexed to colonel Bouquet's printed account of his
540 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
^Apedltion In 1764. The third was made out hj *:aptain Hutchins, who vlfited moft of the tribes, by order, for the purpofe ofiearning their num- bers in 1768. And the fourth by John Dodgie., •an Indian trader, in 1779, except the numbers 3-narked,* which are from other iiiformation^
3
ho CO
rt aj
^2;
o
O
>5
O 5
(- iJ ^
CO
3
ri 'r,
^.>A^
. o
2i
O o
CO
^c<^
H
o o « rt
i-i 4J 4-»' to Lo rJ CO CO CO 13 'p ,,
o
»-c
tj <y o
1/5
(U (U o
^ -i4 ^
rt rt ni
^ "2 vo
»J-(
o o o o
000
O i/^ o
|
' -^ ^ |
r-'— 1 |
|||
|
p CJ VO |
0 |
0 |
||
|
S. ^ t- |
0 |
\J> |
||
|
pM cr « |
N |
en |
0000000. 00
Oi^^OOOOOOO
to I— t
•T3 bO rt
<u O
<u
o
OJ
■ 'a,
C rt
t/5 O
a* 2
b £3-
il^^'b
o
rt
15
l^orthivard and Wejlward of the Ifnikd StaUi,
|
* •• |
|||||||||
|
•^ JJ |
|||||||||
|
G ~-5 |
|||||||||
|
rt -r: |
|||||||||
|
■M |
|||||||||
|
4 |
|||||||||
|
4> >. |
|||||||||
|
^-i |
S ^ |
||||||||
|
'?»» *> |
'^ 1 i • . |
||||||||
|
"♦J |
r" rt ,JJ .j; .J ,Ji .Ji • i rS ° •Xi':^^::^;^ ^ ^ 'h^ ^ d |
||||||||
|
^ ^ |
5J <1)0.>(!J5J QJi3J;-,!_; *^ |
||||||||
|
^ ^^^^ ^^<Ur3 5j |
|||||||||
|
*- *^ ^ W ^ *^ > ^ ^ |
|||||||||
|
•3 0000 oc^-^ |
|||||||||
|
o o o |
■ |
■ |
|||||||
|
o |
|
• |
■♦J |
4 |
• |
o |
0 |
^ o |
|
^: |
o |
•O 0 |
H« |
|||
|
, |
|
i-i |
N |
-H |
|
o |
o |
o o o o |
o o |
o |
|
o |
o |
o o o o |
O 0 |
o |
|
o |
r^ |
In o v:) VO |
O 0 |
t>» |
|
N |
hH |
M i« |
<^ N |
r.' |
S CO c^ cS <?£ 0^ fi^ O CJ O % < (j Northward and IVeJiward of th Unikd States^
|
(1) |
. |
||||||
|
fc.0 O |
o o |
o o |
o TO N |
o |
O |
o |
|
|
Q |
* |
o o o o o o vo o o vo o o
I- CO r^ (S c^ O
O
o o o
CO CO U-v
|
1 zi n |
a.) |
4- |
O 1 ^ |
1 1 |
|
« |
cr- |
J^-l |
«^ |
! I
|
in |
to |
|||
|
« |
^^ -^o,^^,.;? |
I>0 |
aO |
</> |
|
c4 |
O -^3 -^ 'g bO |
E3 |
ID o |
|
|
H |
^ c; C3 '^ r- |
C/2 |
||
|
J |
-< |
'i^ |
||
Wuhin.tbe.Limts of ike Un'tted Statsi
*5
c
-o
a,
CO
t=3
^.
|
a. 13 |
rt |
|
P c |
t^ |
|
rt |
a |
|
c« . |
c; |
|
^ rt oj |
|
|
bO G -r- |
^ |
|
SI c ," |
1-^ |
|
*:3 rt H-i |
QJ |
|
Si |
|
|
1^^ |
|
|
O OQ |
i> |
o
s " .2
<u
Q o g
^ ^ -^
a o
n3
b.0
O G
'coO
o
a
'a,
•X! Qjr
02
t— « O
c
ID
c
|
<" A 1 |
o |
o o |
||||
|
bOON |
r |
A |
o |
|||
|
^ r: |
o |
O "O |
o |
o |
o |
|
|
o t^ |
u-» |
CO |
l^ |
»^ |
»-^ |
|
|
ft '^ |
* |
M |
N |
^^ |
|
f. . |
A ^ |
O |
||
|
o |
O |
o |
o 1 |
|
|
Lo |
O |
o |
p 1 |
|
|
l-l |
VO |
CO |
-^ |
|
A |
i-> |
Tt- |
r ^ |
■ ' |
■( |
|||||
|
o |
ClJ |
^ |
1 |
o |
o |
o |
C) |
o |
o |
I |
|
2 |
r-^ |
1 |
vg |
o |
LO |
() |
o |
lO |
1 |
|
|
Fh |
cr |
i-( |
-:i- |
Ln |
PO |
u-> |
M |
|||
|
l-l |
c5^ |
1 |
o o |
O o |
o o |
o o |
||||
|
5-1 |
.u |
r- |
VO |
^o |
o |
c« |
||||
|
CJ |
.X, |
l-H |
|
p-U^ |
r-^^ |
|||||
|
w |
o |
|||||
|
W W |
CJ |
<.j |
||||
|
pq |
o to V-3 |
^ Ch |
r- en ov ,-. ly, ijj |
|||
|
04 |
S-. <u CO r-! |
dj |
in a) |
iriiiB |
W |
|
|
i-t |
Delaw Lini |
c c 00 S |
Ouiico Kicka] Otoga Mafcoi Mlfcot Outim Mufqu |
Wifhln the Lhn'Us of the Unikd Stales*
o
CJ .5 .2 ri
f S «e o
o o ^ c
CD V^ v> o")
}-. '^ rt ;- r; ct;. trl
O
o
o h
«
p^
is
|
'fi> |
. |
|
hr> |
On |
|
TS |
t^ |
|
O |
r^ |
^6^
<
£
< "^
|
•^ C |
|
|
v-> .j: o |
|
|
rrrj i^. CO |
|
|
C f^ j_i |
|
|
h's a fort t f or |
|
|
ex, ^. P |
|
|
O (— r' |
|
|
>> |
H-, ~ ^- |
|
n3 |
St. ivcr, Ivor, |
|
^^=^ |
|
|
CO |
^^ •=; '^i |
i-.cS
rt r rtJ ^ IZ LIZ
.^
<i
I I
fi -
|
f |
o |
O |
O |
|
VO |
oo |
o |
|
|
* |
)-H |
C^l |
|
1 |
on |
1 |
r-'-n |
||||||||
|
*~> |
CO |
o |
0-, |
C^ |
o |
O |
O |
O |
^ |
O 0 |
♦ |
|
^ |
r^ |
rt |
l-( |
() |
o |
o |
o |
o |
»-o »^ |
||
|
*Tl |
■ "^ |
t-t |
o |
r" |
o |
VOi |
o |
o |
c^ |
r^-t<t |
|
|
t^ |
CO |
VO |
CO |
.. |
PQ cr HH
o o o o o o o
O vn u-^ o I 00 io O
04 '■-h '-'
o
o
CO
o
CO
|
f to |
n |
ON |
o |
o |
f--^ |
o |
||
|
»-. |
r-l |
»^ |
o |
■ |
o |
o |
o |
|
|
^ |
C-- |
«^ |
o |
o |
CO |
|||
|
>-( |
w |
CO |
I— I
r-^-*)
ri4 O
a, o
o
fc.O
5:i C
^ LO CJ
o o ts;
J3 r^
u o O u D k:] :^ < ^ o ^
/^ ithin the Limits of the UiiiUd §taf(s T
>>
o o O .g .5 ^^
000
4J »-J J_)
3 2^ *3 '5 '5
jO O O I *-> j_) j-j
b! i- ^
i^ i~t ^
r3 rt rt (u a> <u
(' s i=: rt
CD n <U
P •;::;
^1 .
o '
<U j_i >*.
|
'-^ |
rt |
-!-• |
|
r> |
^ |
_D |
|
r^ |
rt |
Ti |
|
^ |
& |
^ |
|
'-M |
«^ |
U-^ |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
V, |
tr |
CO |
|
^. |
,^ |
^ |
|
^ |
||
|
rt |
ci |
w ^ "tz
Si 2 ^ "^
K
T3 (U fJ
.2
eg '^^ -
dj O
^ « rt ^
rt
DTj
nf
C
s. ;- V.
^bO-^\bJX
s
C .-■.= ^^
-1^ -^ ^
"c -::i ^
'^ .2
s 5
«— < »— f
O o 5
b" ^ ^
CO
CO
(Li CJ <U
rX: ^ ^
-1-1 4-> 4->
dec COO
^y.
.:3 ^
S- CO CO 5- ^ ^ ^ rt
t: ri o
g go
^ ^ ^--^:^ :5 o o :?; iz: :2
5-. <U
|
a |
-J |
'-1 |
|
fi^ Ph |
Ph |
|
|
^-( |
||
|
CTi |
c^ |
rt |
|
CJ |
<3J |
c> |
|
:s |
^ |
'^ |
^ 2-
I ! i
|
0 0 |
0 |
|
l^ 0 [ |
»^ ! |
|
"^ CO [ |
H- 1 I |
|
>^z |
Ln |
|
A |
|
( |
J -i- |
|
<u vo |
|
|
c |
d 1^ |
|
W |
'cr- 1 |
|
2 H |
0. |
6 0 |
0 0 |
|
v-^ |
- |
M |
CTi |
CO
h— I
o ^
o . - '„
C .:::
t/5
rt
rt r- rt
a,
0-,
"P rt "'f^ ^ ." n r-i ^-j •--- j-j • •-; _,
JVithin the Limits of the United States^
£3 O
NOTES OxM VlRGimA. 14^
The following tribes are alfo mentioned :
r From the mouth of Ohio to Lezar, 400 | ^^^^ ^^^^.j^ ^^ WabaOi.
1 „^ , . ^On the Miffifippi below the
^Webmgs, 200 1 gj^^^j^j^^^
Oufafoys f On white creek, a branch of
Grand T. ^^""'^ 1 the Mimfippi.
O [Linways, 1000 On the Millifippi. -
O
fc^
f I.es Puans, 700 Near Puans Bay. .^ j Polle Avoine,35o Near Puans Bay. ^ j Ouanakina 300")
^ j ChiacaneiTou, 350 ( Conjeaured to be Tribes p I Machecous, 800 J of the Creeks.
(^Souikilas, 2 00 J
r North-weft of L. Michigan, Mlneamls,20oo < to the heads of Ivlilfifippi,
t_ and up to L. Superior. ■g ] Pinkiflias, 1 f On and near the Wabafh
ft I Mafcoutins, I 800 I towards the Ilhnois.
[_VermiHions, 3 But apprehending thefe might be different appel- lations for fome of\he tribes already enumerated, I have net infe'rted them in the table, but ftate them feparately as worthy of further enquiry. The variations obfervable in numbering the flim.e tribe may fometimes be afcribed to imperfe(5l in- formation, and fometimes to a greater or lefs com- prehenilon of fettlements under the fame nam©. [7)
QUERY XIL
A NOTICE of the counties, cities, townfhipsi and villages ?
The counties have been enumerated under que- ry IX. They are 74. in number, of very unequal fize and population. Of thefe 35 are on the tide •ivaters, or in that parallel ; 23 are in the midlands, between the' tide waters and the Blue ridge 01 raountains ; 8 between the Blue ridge and Alleg- haney ; and 8 weftv^^ard of the AUeghaney.
The Rate, by another divifior!, is formed into, pariflies, many of which are commenfurate with the counties ; but fcrnetimes a county comprehends more than one pariih, and fometimes a parilh more than one county. Tl^is divifion had relation to the religi'-m of the ftate, a parfon of the Anglican •.hurch, v/ith a fixed falary, having been heretofore 'i'lablifned in each parilh. The care of the poor '.vas another object of the parochial diviHon.
We have no tcwnfaips. Our country being- niU'. h interfc£ted v/ith ULwigable waters, and trade brciight generally to our. doors inflead of our be- hig obliged tg go in queft of it, has probably been ..ne of the caufes why we have no towns of any fonfequencc. Willimlhurgh, vv'hich till the year J 780, v/as the feat of our government, never c(5'n- tained above 1 8co Inhabitants ; and Norfolk the mod populous town we ever had, contained but 6000. Our towns, but more 'properly our viUag,^* or hamkt-s^ are as follows.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. j^c^
On y^mes* R'^ucr and its waters, Norfolk, Portf- mouth, Hampton, Su^olk, Smithfield, Williamf^ burgh, Peteriburgh, Richmond the feat of our gov-, ernment, Manchefter, Charlottsville, NewJ.ondon.
On Tork River and its waters, York, Newcaf- tie, Hanover.
* On Rappahannoc, Urbanna, Portroyal, Fredcr- ickfburgh, Falmouth.
On Patoivtnac and its waters, Dumfries, Col- chefter, Alexandria, Winchefler, Staunton.
On Ohloy Louifviile.
There are other places at which, like fome of the foregoing, the laivs have faid there fhall be towns ; but nniure has faid there fhall not, and they remain unworthy of enumeration. Norfolk will probably be the em.porium for all the trade of the Chefapeak bay and its waters ; and a canal of 8 or ic miles will bring to it all that of Albe- marle found and its, waters. Secondary" to this place, are the towns at the head of the tide wa- ters, to wit, PeterfDurgh on Appomattox. Rich- mond on James' River. Newcufde on York-Riy» er. Alexandria on Potowmac, and Baltimore ou .Patapfco, From thefe the diftribution will be to fubordinate fituations in the country. Accidental circum.ftances however may control the indica^ tions of nature, and in no inftance do they do it mqre freo^uently than in the rife and fall of towqg^
QUERY XIIL
■■<< K^y >■•>■'
THE coiirtitudon of the ft^e, and its feverai charters ? Queen EUzabeth by her letters-patent, bearinp* date March 25, 1584, ilcenfed Sir Walter Raleigh to fearch for remote heathen lands, not inhabited by chriftian people, and granted to him, in fee fimple, all the foil within 2cxd leagues of the places where his people Ihould, within 6 years make their dwellings or abidings ; referving only to her- felf and her fucceffors, their allegiance and one- fifth part of all the gold and fdver ore they fhould obtain. Sir Vv alter immediately ient out two (hips which vifited Wococon ifland in North-Car- olina, and the next year difpatched feven with iCy men, who fettled in R-oanoke ifland, about latitude 35° 5G^ Here Okilko, King of the Weo- pomeiocs, in a full council of his people is faid to have acknowledged him.felf the homager of the Queen of England, and, after her, of Sir Walter Raleigh. A fupply of 50 men were fent in 1586, •and 150 in 1587. With thefe laft, Sir "Waiter ^ent a governor, appointed him 1 2 affiilants, gave them a charter of incorporation, and intruded them to fettle on Chefapeak bay. They landed however at Hattorailc. In 1588, v/hen a fleet Avas ready to fail wuth a new fupply of cclonifts and necelTaries, they were detained by the Queen to aflift againd the Spanifh armada. Sir Waiter having now expended 40,cool, in thefe enterprif-
n6t£S on TIRGINIA. i^f
cs, obdriicled occafionally by the crown without a lliil'ing of aid from it, was unde^ a necefhty of enp::i^;'ag others to adventure their money. He therefore, by deed bearing date the 7th of March 1589, by the name of Sir Walter Raleigh, chief governor of Airamacomoc, (probably Acomac,) alias*Wingadacoia, alias Virginia, granted to Tho- mas Smith and others, in confideration of their ad- venturing certain funis of money, Jberty of trade^ to his new country, free from all cuftoms and tax- es for fevcn years, excepting the fifth palt of the gold and fdver ore to be obtained ; and ftipulated with them, and the other afilftants, theninVirgin^ . ia, that he would confirm the deed of incorporation which he had given in 1587, with all the prerog- atives, junfdi(5i:ions, royalties and privileges grants^ ed t© him by the Queen. Sir Walter, at diiferent times, fent five other adventurers hither, the lafc of which was in 1602 ; for in 1603 he was attained, and put into clofe imprifonment, which put an -end to his cares over his infant colony. What was the particular fate of the colonies he ha:d before fent and feated, has never been known : whether they were murdered, or incorporated with the favao-es.
Some gentlemen and merchants, fuppofmg that by the attainder of Sir Walter Raleigh the grant to him was forfeited, not enquiring over-carefully whether the fentence of an Englifli court cOuld effedt lands not v/ithin the jurifdidlion of that court, petitioned king James for a new grant of Virginia to them. He accordingly executed a grant to Sir Thomas Gates and others bearing date the 9th of March 1607, under which, in the fame year a fettkment was effeded at James' towtf
1S2- NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
and ever after maintained. Of this grant liowev- c-r no particular notice need be taken, as it was fuperfeded by letters-pntent cf the fame king, of May, 23, 1609 to the Earl of Sali&ury and oth- ers, incorporating them, by the name of * the trea- ' furer and company. of adventurers and planters ^ of the city of London for the firft colony in Virginia,* granting to them and their fucceffbrs all the lands in Virginia from Point Comfort along the fea-coaft to the northward 200 miles, and from the fame point along the feacoafl to the fouthward 200 miles, and ail the fpace from this precindl on the fea-coaO; up into the land, wed and north-weft frem fea to fea, and the Iflands •within one hundred miles of it, with all the com- modities, jurifdidlions, royalties, privileges, fran-- chifes and pre-eminenceles within the fame, and thereunto and thereabouts, by fea and land, apper- taining in as ample manner as had before been granted to any adventurer : to be held of the king and his fucceffors, in common focage, yielding one-fifth part of the gold and filver ore to be therein found, for all manner of fervices ; eftab- lifhjng a council in England for the diredlion of the enterprife, the members of which were to be. chofen and difplaced by the voice of the majority of the company and adventurers, and were to have the nomination and revocation of govern- ors, officers, and miniflers, which by them fhould be thought needful for the colony, the power of eftabliftiing laws and forms of government and magiftracy, obligatory not only within tlie colony, but alfo on the feas in going and coming to and from it : authorlfmg them 'to carry thither any fperfons who fuould confent to go, freeing them
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 15^
for ever from all taxes and Impofitlons on any goods or merchandlfe on importations into the colony, or exportation out of it, except the five per cent, due on all goods imported into the Brit* ifli dominions, according to the ancient trade of merchants ; which five per cent, only being paid they might, within 13 months re-export the fame goods hito foreign parts, without any cull:om, tax, or other duty to the king or any of his ofiicers or deputies ; W'ith powers of waging vrar againil thofe who fhould annOy them ; giving to the in- habitants of the colony all the rights of natural fubjeifls, as if born and abiding in England ; and declaring that thefe letters (liould be conftrued, ia all doubtful parts, in fuch manner as iliould be mod for the beneiit of the Q-rantees.
o ^
Afterwards on the 12th of March 161 2, by other letters-patent, the king added to his former grants, all iilands in any part of the ocean between the 30th and 41ft degrees cf latitude, and within 300 leagues of any of the parts before granted to the treafurer and company, not being poifeifed or inhabited by any other chriftian prince or flate, nor within the limits of the northern colony.
In purfuance of the authorities given to the company by thefe charters, and more efpecially of that part in the charter of 1609, which authorifed them to eftabliih a form of government, they on the 24th of July 1621, by charter under their common feal, declared that from thence forward there fhould be two fiipreme councils in Virginia, the one to be called the council of ftate, to be pla* ced and difplaced by the treafurer, council in England, and company, from time to time, whofc ©ffice was to be that of afurtin;^ and advihuo: thg*
u
154 NOTES ON XaRGINIA.
governor ; the other to be called the general af^ fembly to be covened by the governor once yearly, or oftener, v/hich was to ccnfift of the council of Hate, and two bergelFes out of every town, hun- dred, or plantation, to be refpedcively chofen by the inhabitants. In this all matters were to be decided by the greater part of the votes prefent ; referving to the governor a negative voice ; and they were to have power to treat, confult, and conclude all emegrant occauons concerning the public weal, and to make laws for the behoof and government of the colony, imitating and following the laws and policy of England as nearly as might be : providing that thefe laws (liould have no force till ratified in a general quarter court of the com- pany in England and returned under their com- mon feal, and declaring that, after the government of the colony fhould be vrell framed and fettled, no orders of the council in England fliould bind the colony unlefs ratified in the faid general aflem- bly. The king and company quarrelled, and by a mixture of lav/ and force, the latter were oufted of all their rights, without retribution, after hav- ing expended ioo,oool, In eftabllfliing the colony, without the fmalleft aid from government. King James fafpended their powers by proclamation of July 15, 1624, and Charles I. took the govern- ment into his own hands. Both fides had their partlfaiis in the colony ; but in truth the people of the colony in general thought themfelves little Concerned in the difpute. There being three par- ties interefted in thefe feveral charters, what palfed between the firil and fecond it was thought could not affe^ft the third. If the king feized on the power of the company, they only pafTed into other hands, without iiicreafe or dimenutioD, while the
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. i^s
rlj^lits of the people remained as they %vere. But they did not remain fo long. The northern parts of their country were granted away to th^- lords Baltimore and Fairfax, the firft of thefe obtaining alfo the rights of feparate jurifdidion and gov- cniment. And in 1650 the parliament, confider- ing itielf as ftanding in the place of their depofed king, and as having fucceeded to all his powers, without as well as within the realm, began to af- fume a right over the colonies, paffing an a6t for inhibiting their trade with foreign nations. This fucccflion to the exercife of kingly authority gave the firlf color for parliamentary interference with the colonies, and produced that fatal precedent which they continued to foUov/ after they had re- tired, in other refpeds, within their proper fLintftions. When this colony, therefore, which Hill maintained its oppofition to Cromwell and the parliament, was induced in 1651 to lay doAvn their armis, they previoufly fecured their moft eilential rights, by a folemn convention, which havino- never feen in iprint, I will here infert literally from the records. * Articles agreed on & concluded at James
* Clttie in Virginia for the furrendering ana fettling
* of that plantation under the obedience & govern-
* ment of the Comcn wealth of England by the
* Commiflioners of the Councill of ftate by author-
* itie of the parliamt. of England & by the grand
* alTembly of the Governour, Councill & BurgeiTes
* of that countrey.
' Frft it is agreed and confted that the planta-
* tion of Virginia, and all the inhabitants thereof
* ihall be and remain in due obedience and fubjec-
* tion to the Comon wealth of England according
* to the laws there eftablilhcd, and that this fub-
6 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
miinon and fubfcriptlon bee acknowledged a vol- untary act not forced nor conflrained by a con- queft upon the countuey, and that they Ihall have and enjoy Inch freedoms and privileges as belong to the tree borne people of England, and that the former government by the Comraiffions and In-^ ftriictions be void and null.
* 2ly, Secondly that the Grand aiTembly as for- merly ihall convene & tranfadl the affairs of Vir- ginia v/herein nothing is to be a(5led or done cOn- trarie to the government of the Comcn wealth of England and the laws there eRablillied.
* 3ly, That there ihail be a full and total remif- fion and indempnitite of all a(51-s, words, or writ- ings done or fpoken againft the parliament of England In relation to the fame.
* 4ly, That Virginia (hall have & enjoy the an- tient bounds and Lymitts granted by the charters of former kings, and that we Ihall feek a new char- ter from the parliament to that purpofe againft any that have intrencht upon the rights thereof.
* 5ly, That all the patents of land granted under the collony feal by any of tlie precedent govern- ours fiiall be and remain in their full force & ftrenf:;th.
* 61y, That the prlviledge of having iiiftle acres of land for every perfon tranfported in that col- lonie fnall continue as formerly granted.
•■ 7jy, That the people o£ Virginia have free t a ic as the people of England do enjoy to all places and with all nations according to the lav/es of that Comon wealth, and that Virginia fliall enjoy all privilidges equal with any Engliih plan- lations in America.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 157
' Sly, That Virginia fliall be fre« from all taxes,
* cuftoms & impofitions whatrocver, & none to be
* impofed on them without conl'ent of the Grand
* aHembly, and foe that neither flortes nor caiUes
* bee erected or o-arrifons maintained without their
o
* conlent.
* gljy That noe charge Ihall be required from
* this countrey in refped of tliis prefent fileet.
* loly, That for the future fcLtlement of the
* countrey in their due obedience, the engagement
* Ihall be tendered to all the inhabitants according
* to ad of parliament made to that purpofe, that
* all perfons who Ihall refufe to fubfcribe the iaid
* engagement, fhall have a yeare's time if they
* pleafe to remove thcmielves & and their eltates
* out of Virginia, and in the me;m time during
* the faid yeare to have equal jaftice as formerly.
* Illy, That the ufe 01 the booke of common
* prayer fliall be permitted for one yeare enfuinge
* witli reference to the confent of the major part
< of the parllhes, provided that thofe which relate
* to kingfhipp or that government be not ufed
< publiquely, and the continuance of minfters in
* their places, they not mifdemeaning themfelv^es^
* and the payjTient of their accuftomed dues and
* agreements made with them reipeclively Ihall be
* kit as they now ftand during this enfuing yeare.
* I2ly, That no man's cattell Ihall be queftion-
* ed as the companies unlefs fu ch as have been en-
* trailed with them or have difpofed of them with-
* out order.
* i3ly, That all ammunition, powder & armes,
< other than for private ufe, fliall be delivered up^
* fecuritie being given to make fatisfadion for it.
* i4ly, That all goods already brought hither-
15S NOTES ONVIRGINIA.
* by the Dutch or others which are now on fhoar
* fhall be free from furprizall.
* 15I7, That the quittrents granted unto ns by
* the late kinge for feven yeares bee confirmed.
* i61y, Tha.t the commidioners for the parlia-
* ment fubfcribing thefe articles engage them- ' felves & the honour of parliament for the full
* performance thereof : and that the prefent gov- ' ernoiir & the councill & the burgelfes do like-
* wife fubfcribe and engage the whole coUony on
* their parts.
Rich. Bennett. Scale.
Wm. Claiborne. Scale.
Edmund Curtis. Scale.
* Theife articles were figncd & fealcd by the
* Coram'ffioners of the Council of ftatc for the
* Common wealth of England the tweiveth day of
* March 1651,
Then the following articles fcipulated by the governor and council, which relate merely to their own perfons and property, and then the enfulng mftrument :
* An adl of indempnltle made att the furrender
* of the countrey.
* Whereas by the authoritle of the parliament
* wee the commlffioners appointed by the councill
* of ftate authorized thereto havinp- brousfht a
* lleet & force before James cittle in Virginia to
* reduce that collonie under the obedience of the
* Common wealth of England, and findeing force
* raifed by the Governour & countrey to make
* oppofition againft the faid ffleet Avereby affiired
* danger appearhige of the ruin & deftrui^tion of
* the plantation, for prefervation whereof the Bur-
* geffes of all the feveral plantations being called
NOTES ON VIP.GINIA. 159
* to advife and affift therein, iippon long' & ferious
* debate, and in fad cnnteraplation of the great
* miferies and certaine d^itrudion which were foe
* neerely hovering over the whole conntrey ; wee
* the faid comniiilioners have thought fitt & con-
* defcended and granted to figne and confirme un-
* der our hands, feales & by our oath, Articles
* bearinge date with theife prefents, and do furth-
* er declare that by the authoritie of the parlia- ' ment and Comon wealth of Eng^land derived
* unto us their commilTioners, that according to
* the articles in generall v/ee have granted an a(5t ' of indemnitie and oblivion to ail the inhabitants
* of this colloney from all words, adions, or wri- ' tings that have been fpoken acled or writ a-
* gainft the parliament or Common wealth of ' England or any other perfon from the begin-
* niny; of the world to this davc. And this wee
* have done that all the inhabitants of the collcnie
* may live quietly & fecurely under the Common
* wealth of England. And Vv'ee do promife that
* the parliament and comon wealth of England
* fhall confirm and make good all thofe tranf-
* actions of ours. Witnefs our hands & feales this
* 1 2 th of March 1651. Richard Bennet — Seale.
* Wm. Claiborn — Seale. Edm. Curtis — Seale.'
The colony fuppofed, that, by this folemn con- vention, entered into with arms in their hands, they had fecuredthe ancient limits* of their country, its free trade,f its exemption from taxation;!: but by their own airembly,and exclufion of military force^ from among them. Yet in every of thefe points was this convention violated by fubfequent kings and parliaments, and other infradlions of their conflitu-
* Art. 4. t Art, 7. % Art. $. ^Art. 8.
s6o NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
tion, equally dangerous committed. Their gener- al affembly, which was ccmpofed of the council of ftate and burp-elTes, fitting together and deciding by plurality of voices, was fplit into two houfes, by which the council obtained a feparate negative on their laws. Appeals from their fupreme court, which had been iixed by lav/ in their general af- fembly, were arbitrarily revoked to En,Q;land, to be there heard before the king and council. Inilead of four hundred miles on the fea-coall;, they were reduced, in the fpace of thirty years, to about one hundred miles. Their trade with foreigners was totally fuppreifed, and when carried to Great- Britain, was there loaded with impofts. It is un- neceffary, however, to glean up the feveral inftan- ccs of injury, as fcatteled through American and Britiih hiftory, and the more efpecially as by paf- fmg on to the acceffion of the prefent king, we fiiall find fpecimens of them all, aggravated, multi- plied and crouded within a fmall compafs of time, fo as to evince a fixed defign of confidering our ric^hts natural, conventional and chartered as mere nullities. The following is an epitome of the firft fifteen years of his reign. The colonies were tax- ed internally and externally ; their eiTentia^ inter- efts facriticed to individuals in Great Britain ; their legiflatures fufpended ; charters annulled ; trials by juries taken away ; their perfons fubjecfl- ed to tranfportation acrofs the Atlantic, and to tri- al before foreign judicatories : their fupplications for redrefs thought beneath anfwer ; themfelves pubiifhed as cowards in the councils of their moth- er country and courts of Europe ; armed troops fent among them to enforce fubmlflion to thefe violences ; and atSual hofuUties commenced a-
i
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. i6t
ga.m(i them. No alternative was prefented but refiftance, or UHConditional fubmiffion. Between thefe could be no heritatlon. They clofed in the appeal to arms. They declared themfelves inde- pendent dates. They confederated together into one great republic ; thus fecuring to every ftate the benefit of an union of their whole force. In each ftate feparately a new form of government was eflablifiied. Of ours particuhrly the follow- ing are the outlines. The executive powers are lodged in the hands of a governor, chofen annu- ally, and incapable of afting more than three years in fevcn. He is ailiftcd by a council of ^ight membei's. The judiciary powers are di- vided among feveral courts, as will be hereafter explained. Legiflation is exercifed by two houf- fes of affembly, the one called the houfe of dele- gates, compofed of two members from each coun- ty, chofen annually by the citizens pofTeffing an cftate for life in loo acres of uninhabited land, or 25 acres with a houfe on it, or in a houfe or lot in fome town : the other called the fenate, confift- ing of 24 members, chofen quadrenially by the fame eleilors, who for this purpofe are diftributed into 24 dirtricts. The concurrence of both houfes is neceffary to the pafTage of a law. They have the appointment of the governor and council, the judges of the fuperior courts, auditors, attorney- general, treafurer, regifter of the land office, and delegates to congrefs. As the difmemiberment of th;; ftate had never had its confirmation, but, en the contrary, had always been the fubjed of pro- teftation and complaint, that it might never be in our power to raife fcruples on that fabjed, or to 4iflurb the harmony of our new confederacy, tfeg W
1(^2 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
grants to Maryland, Pennfy.lvania, anij the two CaroHnas, were ratified.
This conftitiitian was formed when we were new and unexperienced, in the Icience of government. It was the firll too which was formed In the w^hole United States. No wonder tlien that time and trial have difcovercd very capital defers in it.
1. The majority of the men in the ftate, wha pay and fight for its fiippoit, are mireprefented in the legiflatnre, the roll of freeholders entitled to vote, not including generally the half of thofe- on the roll of the militia, or of the tax-gatherers.
2. Among thofe who fhare the^ reprefentation, the fhares are very unequal. Thus the county of Warwick, with only ico fighting men, has an equal reprefentation with the county of Loudon, which has j 746. So that every mam in Warwick lias as much influence in the government as 17 mQn in I^oudon. But left it Ihould be thought that an equal intcrfperfion of fmall among large ccunLies, through the vvhole ftate, may prevent any danger of injury to particular parts of it, we will divide it into dlftri6is, and fuow the proper* tions of land, of fighting men, and of reprefenta-
. tion in each.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Between the fea-coaft and falls of the rivers Between the falls of the rivers and theBlu ridge of mountains B -'tween the Blue) ridge & the Alleghany J Between the AUeg- lianey and Ohio
Total -
]
Square Fighting
nulcs.
men.
1 1,205 19,012
18,759
11,911
t79,65o 11,523
18,828
7>^73 4,458
16
16 49,971149
163
De'e-'^Sena-
qatss.
71
£
tors.
12
24
An Infpedlon into this table will fupply the place of conimentarles on it. It wiii appear at once that 19,000 men, living below the falls of the rivers, pofFefs half the fenate, and want four mem- bers .only of polleliing a majority of the houfes of delegates ; a want more than fupplied by the vi- cinity of their fituation to the feat of government, ^nd of courfe tlie greater degree of convenience and punduality with which their members may and will attend in the legiilature. Thefe 19,000 therefore, lU'ing in one part of the country, give law to upwards of 30,000 living in another, and aj^point all their chief officers executive and judi- ciary. From the difference of their fituation and circumifances, their intereils will often be veiy iiiiferent.
3. The fenate is, by its conftitution, too homo- genous with the houfe of delegates. Being chofcn
* Of thefe 542 are on the E flern fhore. f Of thefe., 22,616 ore eajhvard cf the mrld'ian cf il^a nor-th ^f the Grsat Kanba-vjajf
1 64 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
by the fame eledors, at the fame time, and ont of the fame fubje6ls, the choice falls of courfe on men of the fame defcription. The purpofe of eftablifh- ing different houfes of legiflatlon is to introduce the influence of different interefts or different prin- ciples. Thus in Great-Britain it is faid their con* ilitution relies on the houfes of commons for hon- cfty, and the lords for wifdom ; which would be a rational reliance if honefty were to be bous^ht with money, and if wifdom were hereditary. In feme of the American ftates the delegates and fenatgrs are fo chofen, as that the firft reprefent the perfons, and the fccond tlie property of the ftate. But with us, Avealth and wifdom have equal chance for admif- ficn into both houfes. Vv^e do not therefore de- rive from the feparation rf our kgiflature into two houfes, thofe l)eneHts which a proper complication of principles is capable of producing, and thofe which alone can com.penfate the evils which may be produced by their dilfentTcns.
4. All the powers of government, legiflative, executive, and judiciary, refult to the Icgiflative bodv. The concentratincr thefe in the fame hands 3s precifely the definition of defpotic government. It will be no alleviation that thefe powers will be exercifed by a plurality of hands, and not by a fmgle one : 173 depofits v/ould furely be as op- pref ive as one. Let thofe who doubt it turn their eyes on the republic of Venice. As little will it avail us that they are chcfen by ourfelves. An tleclive dcfpotifm was not the government we fought for ; but one which fliould not only be founded on free principles, but in which the powers of gov- trnment fhould be fo divided and balanced among fjveral bodies of majeftracy, as that no one conoid
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 1(^5
tranfcend their legal limits, without being effeftu* ally checked and reftrained by the others. For this reafon that convention, which palled the or- dinance of government, laid its foundation on this bafis, that the legiflative, executive and judiciary departments fhould be feparate and diftind, la that no perfon Ihould exercife the powers ol more than one of ihem at the fame time. But no bar- rier was provided between thefe leveral powers. The judiciary and executive members were left dependant on the legiflative, for their fubfiifence in office, and fome of them for their continuance in it, If therefore the legiflature alfumes execu- tive and judiciary powers, no oppofition is likely to be made ; nor, if made, can it be effecftual 5 jbecauie in that cafe they may put their proceed- dings into form of an ad of aiiembly, which will render them obligatory on the other branches. They have accordingly, in many inftances, decid- ed rights which fhould have been left to judiciary controver y : and the diredion of the executive, during the whole time cf their fcflion, is becoming habitual and familiar. And this is done with no ill intention. The views of the prefent members are perfectly upright. When they are led out of their regular province, it is by art in others, and inadvertence in themlelves. And this will proba- bly be the cafe for fome time to come. But it will not be a very long time. Mankind foon learn to make interefted ufes of every right and power which they poflefs or may aifume. The public money and public liberty, intended to have been depofited with three branches of magillracy but found inadvertently to be in the hands of one only, will foou be difcovered to be iburces of wealt^j.-
P66 NOrES ON VIRGINIA.
and dominion to thofe who hold them ; diilin- guilhed too by this tempting circumftancc, that they are the inftrument, as well as the objed of acqutfition. With money we will get men, laid Caslar, and with men we will get money. Nor ihould our afTembly be deluded by the integrity of tlieir own purpofes, and conclude that •thelis unlimited powers will never be abufed, becaufe themlelves are not difpofed to abufe them. They ihould look forward to a time and that not a dif. tant one, when corruption in this, as in the coun- try from which we derived our origin, will have feized-the heads of government, and be fpread by tiiem through the body df the people ; when they will purchale the voices of the people, and make them pay the price. Human nature is the fame on every fide of the Atlaiuic, and will be alike in- fluenced by the fame caufes. The time to guard againft corruption and tyran-ny, is before they ftall have gotten hold on us. It is -better to keep the wolf out of the fold, than to tru-il: to drawing his teeth and talons aftei- he fliall have entered. To render thefe confiderations the nK>re -cogent, \vc mull obferve in addition.
5. T-hat the ordinary legiilaturc may alter the conftitution itfelf. On the difcontinuance of af- lemblies, it became neceffary to fubftitute in their ^lace fome other body, competent to the ordinary 'bufmefs of government, and to the calling forth the powers of the ftate for the maintenance of our oppofition to Great-Britain. Conventions were «Chereibre introduced, confiding of two delegates l^-om -each county, meeting together and forming one -houfe, on the plan of the former houfe of ^iH'^elTes, t-Q-whofe -places -t'hey fuc-ceeded. Thck
NOTfES ON VtRGI'lK^IA, i6)
were at firft chofen anew for every particuJar^ feA lion. But in March 1775 they recommended- to the people to choofe a- eoniv^ention,^ whieh ihould continue in office a year. This was done accor- dingly in April 1-775, and in the July. follcAVing that convention pafTed an ordinance for the elec- tion of delegates' in the month of April annually. It is well known, that in July 177 5, a feparatioa from Great-Britain and eftabliflmient of republic- an government had never yet entered into any perfon's mind» A convention therefore chofen under that ordinance^ cannot be faid t9 hare heea chofen for the purpofes w-hich. dertainly did not Gxift in the minds of thofe who pa lied it. Under this ordinance, at the annual eledlion in April h'j'']:6y a- convention for the year was chof:n. Independ- ence, and the eftabliflmient of a new form of gov- ernment, \vere not even yet the objcobs- of the peo- ple at large. One extract from the pamphlet cal- led Common Senfe had appeared in the Virginia papers in February, and copies of the pamphlet itfelf had got into a few hands. But the idea had not been opened to the mafs of the people in April, much lefs can it be fiid that they had made up their minds in its favor. So that the electors of April 1776, no more than the legiflators of Ju- ^y I775> "c>t thinking of independence and a per- manent republic, could not mean to veft in thefe , delegates powers of eftabliihing them, or any au- thorities other than thofe of tlie ordinary legiflatue. So far as a temporary organization of government was neceflary to render our oppofition energetic, fo far their oro-anization was vaHd. But thev re- ceived in their creation no powers but what were given- to every legiflature before and fiiice. Thej*
t6« NOTES ON VIRGINIA,
could not tlierefore pafs an a<ft tranfcendant to the powers of other leglflaturqs. If the prefent aflem- bly pafs an a(5l, and declare it fhall be irrevocable by fubfequent aflemblies, the declaration is merely "Void, and the aft repealable, as other ads are. So far, and no farther authorifed, they organized the government by the ordinance entitled a conftitu- lion: or form of government. It pretends to no higher authority than the other ordinances of the fame feffion ; it does not fay, that it iliall be per- •pctual that it fhall be unalterable by other legifla- tures ; that it ihall ,be tranfcendant above the pow- ers of thofe, who they knew would have equal power with themfelves. Not only the filence of the inftrument is a proof they thought it would be alterable, but their own practice alfo ; for this ve- ry convention, meeting as a houfe of delegates in general affembly with the fenate in the autumn of that year, pafTed afts of alfembly in contradidion to their ordinance of government : and every af- fembly from that time to this has done the fame. 1 am fafe therefore in the pofition, that the confti- tution itJelf is alterable by the ordinary legHlature. Though this opinion feems founded on the firil elements of common fenfe, yet is the contrary maintained by fome perfons. i . Becaufe fay they, the conventions were vefted with every power ne- eeflary to make effedlual oppofition to Great-Brit- ain. But to complete this areument, they muft go on, and fay further, that effeftual oppofition could not be made to Great-Bntain, without eftabllfh- ing a form of government perpetual and unalera- ble by the legislature ; which is not true. An oppofition which at fome time or other was to couie to an end, could not need a perpetual infti-
jKOTES on VIRGINIA 169
tiition to carry it on : and a government, amend- able as its defcdts Ihould be difcovered, was as likely to make efFedual refiftance, as one which ihould be unalterably wrong. Bclides, the alFcm- blies were as much veflcd with all powers requi- fite for refiftance as the conventions were. It therefore thefe powers included that of mcdelllng the form of government in the one cafe, they did lb in the other. The aiTemblies then as well as . the conventions may model the government ; that is they may alter the ordinance of government. 2. They urge, that if the convention had meant that this inilrument fhould be alterable, as their other ordinances were, they would have called it an ordinance : but they have called it a conjlltvlion, which ex vi termini means ' an a6l above the power of the ordinary legiflature.' I anfwer, that conJll~ iut'io, coTifiitullum, Jlatulvm, lex, are convertible terms". * Conjlitut'io dicitur jus quod a principle conditure.' Cotiji'itutum, quad ab im.peratoribus refcriptum fta- tutumve eft.' Staiutum idem quod lex.' Calvini Lexicon jurifdicum. Covfiitution and Jlatute v/ere ■originally terms of the* civil law, and from thence introduced by ecclefiaftics into the Englifti law. Thus in the ftatute 25 Hen. 8. c. 19. ^). i. ConJlU iiit'ions and ordinances are ufed as fynonimous. The term conjlltui'ion has many other fignifi cations in phyfics and m politics ; but in jurifprudence, whenever it is applied to any acl of the legillaturc, it invariably means a ftatute, law, or ordinance, •which is the prefent cafe. No inference then of a
* To bid, to fet, ivas the ancient legiflatlve '-juord ef the EngTtJh. LI. Hlothani ^ Edr'ui. LI. Inac, LI £awer(ii. LL Aathelftani.
^-
X70 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
different meaning can be drawn from the adop* tlon of this title ; on the contrary, we might con- clude, that by their affixing to it a term fynoni- mous with ordinance or ilatute. But of what confequence is their meaning, where their power is denied ? If they mean to do more than they had power to do, did this give them power ? it is not the name, but the authority that renders an act obligatory. Lord Coke fays, * an article of the
* tlatute II. R. 2. c. 5. that no perfon Ihonld at-
* tempt to revoke any ordinance then made, is re-
* pealed, for that fuch reftraint is againfl: the jurif-
* di(5tion and power of the parliament,' 4. inft. 42.
* and again, though divers parliaments have at-
* tempted to redrain fubfequent parliaments, yet
* could they never effed: it ; for the latter parlia-
* ment hath ever pov/er, to abrogate, fufpend,
* qualify, explain, or m^ake void the former in the
* whole or in any part thereof, notwithftanding
* any words of reftraint, prohibition, or penalty, in
* the former : for it is a maxim in the laws of the
* parliament, quad leges pofterlores priores con-
* trarias abrogant.' 4. Inft 43. — To get rid of the magic fuppofed to be in the word conjlitution, let lis tranilate it into its definition as given by thoffe who think it above the power of the law ; and let us fuppofe the convention inftead of faying, * we
* the ordinary leglllature eftablifh a confiitut'ton' had faid, * we the ordinary legiflature eftabllfh an <{.&. abo'Vf' the poauer of the ordinary Jeg'tjlatiire.^ Does not this expofe the abfurdity of the attempt ? 3^ But; fay they, the people have acquiefced, and this has given It an authority fuperior to the laAvs. It is true, that the people did not rebel againft it : and was that a time for the people to rife in rebel-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 171
lion ? Should a prudent acquiefcence, at a critical time, be conftrued into a confirmation of every il- legal thing done through that period ? Befides, why fhould they rebel? At an annual eledion, they had chofen delegates for the year, to exercife the ordinary powers of legiilation, and to manage the great conteft in which they were engaged. Thefe delegates thought the conteft would be beil managed by an organized governnient. They therefore, among others, paiTed an ordinance 01 government. They did not prefume to call it perpetual and unalterable. They well knew they had no power to make it {o : that our choice of them had been for no fuch purpofe, and at a time when we could have no fuch purpofe in contem- plation. Had an unalterable form of govern- ment been meditated, perhaps we fhould have chofen a different fet of people. There Vvras no caufe then for the people to rife in rebellion. But to what dangerous lengths will this argument bo lead ? Did the acquiefcence of the colonies under the various ads of power exercifed by Great-Britaia in our intant if ate, confirm thefe ads, and fo far invell: them with the authority of the people as to render them unalterable, and our prefent refifi- ance wrong ? On every unauthoritative exercife of power by the legiilature, mud the people rife in rebellion, or their filence be conftrued into a lur- render of that' power to them ? If fo, how many rebellions Ihould we have had already ? One cer- tainly for every feiTion of a-ffembly. The other ftates in the union have been of opinion, that to render a form of government unalterable by ordi- nary ads of affembly, the people muft delegate perfons with fpccial powers. They have ac(;ord-
172 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
ingly cliofen fpecial conventions to form aiiQ fit their govciniTients. The individuals then who maintain the contrary opinion in this country, ihould have the modelly to fuppofe it poffible that they may be wrong and the reft of America right. -But it there be only a poffibihty of their being wrong, if only a plauf ble doubt remains of the validity of the ordinance of government, is it not better to remove that doubt, by placing it on a bottom which none will difpute ? If they be right we (hall only have the unnecefTary trouble of meet- ing once in convention. If they be wrong, they expofe us to the hazard of having no fundamental rip'hts at all. True it is, this is no time for delib- crating on forms of government. While an ene- my is within our bowels, the firft object is to expell him. But when this Ihall be done, v.'hen peace Ihall be eflabliilied, and leifure given us for in- trenching within good forms the rights for which we have bled, let no man be found indolent enoueh to decline a little more trouble for placing them beyond the reach of cjueftion. If any thing more be requifite to produce a conviction of the expediency of calling a convention at a proper fea- fon to fix our form of government, let it be the xeReftion,
6. That the afTem.bly exercifes a power of de- termining a quorum of their own body which may legiilae for us. After the efiabhihment of the jiew form they adhere to the Lex rnajons partisy founded in * comamon law as well as common right. It is the •\ natural law of every affembly of
^ Bro. ahr. Cor^wrailotu. 31* 34* Jiakeive/Iy g^^-
t P'if Of' '^ou:- I 2. c. 6. ^. \Z. .
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 173
men, whofe numbers are not fixed by any other- law. They continued for Ibme time to require the pretence of a majority of their whole number, to pafs an adl. But the BritilK parhament fixes its own quorum : our former allemblies fixed their own quorum : and one precedent in favor of power is (lironger than an hundred againll it. The houfe of delegates therefore have * lately voted that, du- ring^ the prefer.t dangerous invafion, forty mem- bers Ihali be a houie to proceed to bufmefs. They have been moved to this by the fear of not beinj]^ able to colled a houfe. But tliis danger could not authorize them to call that a houfe which was none : and if they may fix it at one number, they may at another, till it lofes its fundamental character of being a reprefentive body. As this vote expires with the prefent Invafion, it is probable the former rule will be permitted to revive : becaufe at pref- ent no ill is meant. The power however of fixing- their own quorum has been avowed, and a preced- ent let. From foity it may be reduced to four, and from four to one : from a houfe to a commit- tee to a chairman or fpeaker, and thus an oligar- chy be fubtlituted under formis fuppofed to be- reg- ular. ' Omina mala exempla ex bonis orta funt :
* fed ubi imperium ad ignaros aunt minus bonus ' pervenit, novum illud exemplum ab dignis et
* idonels ad indignos et non idoneos fertur.' When therefore it is confidered, that there is no legal ob- llacle to the afilimptlon by the affembly of all the powers leglflatlve, executive, and judiciary, and that thefe may come to the hands of the fmalleft. rag of delegation, furely the people will fay, and
* June 4, I 78 1.
J74 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
their reprefentatives, while yet they have honefl reprefentatives, will advife them to fay, that they will not acknowledge as laws any acls not confid- ered and alFented toby the major part of their del- egates.
In enumerating the defeats of the conftitution, it would be wrong to count among them what is only the error of particular perfons. In Decem- ber 1776, our circumftances being much diftreifed, it was propofed in the houfe of delegates to create a diclator, inverted with every power legiflative, executive and judiciary, civil and military, of hfe and of death, over our perfons and over our prop- erties : and in June 1781, again under calamity, the fame propofition was repeated, and wanted a few votes only of being paifed. — One who enter- ed into this conteft from a pure love of liberty, and a fenfe of injured rights, who determined to make every facrifice and to meet every danger, for the re-eftablifhment of thofe rights on a firm bafis, who did not mean to expend his blood and fubiiance for the wretched purpofe of changing this matter for that, but to place the powers of governing him In a plurality ©f hands of his own choice, fo that the corrupt will of no one man mioht in future opprefs him, muft (land confound- ed and difmayed when he is told, that a confider- able portion of th.it plurality had meditated the iurrendcr of them into a fmgle hand, and, in lieu 'of a limited monarchy, to deliver him over to a defpotic one ! How muil: wc find his efforts and facrifices abufed and baffled, if he may fiill by a fmgle vote be laid proftrate at the feet of one man ? In God's namj from whence have they derived this power ? Is it from our ancient laws \ Noxia
NOTES ON VIRCxINIA. 175;
fucli can be produced. Is it from any principle in our new conftitution expreiTed or implied ? Eve- ry lineament of that exprefled or implied, is in full oppofition to it. Its fundamental principle is, that the ftate fhall be governed as a commonwealth. It provides a repubhcan organization, profcribes under the name of prerogative the exercife of all powers undefined by the laws ; places on this ba- ils the whole fyftem of our laws ; and by confolid- ating them together, chufes that fhould be left to (land or fall together, never providing tor any cir- cumftances, nor admitting that fuch could arife, wherein either ihould be fufpended, no, not for a moment. Our ancient laws expresfly declare, that thofe who are but delegates themlelves fhall not delegate to other powers which require judg- ment and integrity in their exercife.' — Or was this propofjtion moved on a fuppofed right in the movers of abandoning their pofts in a moment of diftrefs ? The fame laws forbid the abandonment of that poft, even on ordinary occafions : and much more a transfer of their powers into other hands and other forms, without confulting the people. They never admit the idea that thefe, like fheep or cattle, may be given from hand to hand without an appeal to their own will. — Was it from the neceffity of the cafe ? Neceffities which diffolve a government, do not convey its authori- ty to an oligarchy or a monarchy. They throw back, into the hands of the people, the powers they had delegated, and leave them as individuals to Ihift for themfelves. A leader may offer, but not impofe himfelf nor be impofed on them. Much lefs can their necks be fubmitted to his fword, their breath to be held at his will or caprice. The
175 NOTES ON VIPvGlNIA.
necefflty which fhould operate thefe tremendous effeds fliould at lead be palpable and irrefiftible. Yet in both inftances, where it Avas feared, or pre- tended with us, it was belied by the event. It was belied too by the preceding experience of our fifter ftates, feveral of whom had grappled through greater difficulties without abandoning their forms of government. When the propofition was firft made, MalTachufetts had found even the govern- ment of committees fufficient to carry them through an invafion. But we at the time of that propofition were under no invafion. When the iecond was made, there had been added to this example thofe of Rhode-IflanJ, New- York, Nev/- Jerfey, and Pennfylvania, in all of which the re- publican form had been found equal to the tafk of carrying them through the fevered trials. In this ftate alone did there exifl fo little virtue, that fear was to be fixed in the hearts of the people, and to become the motive of their exertions and the prin- ciple of their government ? The very thought alone v/as treafon againft the people ; was treafon -againft mankind in general ; ri vetting for ever the chains which bow down their necks, by giving to their opprefibrs a proof, which they would have trumpetted through the univerfe, of the imxbecility of republican government, in times of preffing danger, to ihield them from harm. Thofe who aflume the right of giving away the reins of gov- ernment in any cafe, muft be fure that the herd, whom they hand on to the rods and hatchet of the dictator, will lay their heads on the block when he ihall nod to them. But if our alfemblies fuppofed fuch a refignation in the people, I hope they mif- took tlieii character. I am of opinion, that tli«
NOTES ON VlPvGINIA. 17^
government, infttad of being braced and invigor- tited for greater exertions under their diffieulties, would have been thrown back upon the bunghn^^ machinery of county committees for adminillra- tion, till a convention could have been called, and its wheels again fet into regular motion. What a cruel moment was this for creating fuch an em- barrafsment, for putting to the proof the attach- ment of our countrymen to republican govern- ment ! Thofe who meant well, of the advocates for this meafure, (and moft of them meant well, for 1 know them perfonally, had been their fellow- laborers in the common caufe, and had often prov- ed the purity of their principles, had been feduced in their judgment by the example of an ancient republic, whofe conftitution and circumftances were fundamentally different. They had fought this precedent in the hiftory of Rome, where alone it was to be found, and where at length too it had proved fatal. They had taken it from a republic rent by the moft bitter fadions and tumults, where the governm.ent was of a heavy-handed unfeeling ariftocracy, over a people ferocious, and rendered defperate by poverty and wretchednefs ; tumults wdiich could not be allayed under the moft trying circumftances, but by the omnipotent hand of a fmgle defpot. Their conftitution therefore allow- ed a temporary tyrant to be ereded, under the name of a diftator 5 and that tem.porary tyrant
after a few examples became perpetual They
mifapplied this precedent to a people, mild in their difpofitions, patient under their trial, united for the public liberty, and affedionate to their leaders.. But if from the conftitution of the Roman goveni- Jnent there refulted to their fenate a power of ful> Y
l-,78 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
mitting nil their rights to the Vvill of one mar^, docs it follow, that the affembly of Virginia, have the fame anthoritr ? Vvliat claufe in onr conftitii- tion has fubilitutcd that of Rome, by way of refi- liuary provifion, for all cafes not otherwife provid- ed for ? Or if they may flep ad libitum into any other form of government for precedents to rule us by, for what opprelhon may not a precedent be found in this world of the bellum omnium in om- nia ? — Searching for the foundations of this propo- lition, I can find none v/hich may pretend a color of right or reafon, but the dcfetft before developed, that there being no barrier between the legillature, executive, and judiciary departments, the legifla- ture mav feize the whole : that having feized it, and polfeffmfj; a ri-^-ht to fix their own Quorum, they may reduce that quorum to one, whom they may call a chairman, fpeaker, di-flator, or by any other name they pleafe. — Our fituation is indeed perilous, and I liope my countrymen will be ienfi- ble of it, and will apply, at a proper feafon the proper remedy ; which is a convention to fix the conftitution, to amend its defects, to bind up the feveral branches of government by certain laws, which when they tranfgrefs their acts fhall become nullities ; to render unneceifary an appeal to the people, or in other words a rebellion, on every in- fraction of their rights, on the peril that their ac* quiefcence Ihall be conftrued into an intention to lurrender thofe rights.
CrJERY XIV.
TKE admlnidration of jullice and the de- Icription of the laws ? 'I'hQ Hate is divided into counties. In every county are appointed niagiilrates, called jufiices of the peace, uiually from eight to thirty ®r iorty in number, in proportion to the fize of the county, of the moil difcreet and honeft inhabitants. They are nominated by their fellows, but commiffioned by the governor, and act without reward. Thefi magiftrates have jurirdi«5tioa both criminal and civil. If the queftion before them be a queilion of lav/ only, they decide on il themfelves : but if it be of fact, or of fact, and law combined, it mud be re- ferred to a jury. In the latter cafe, of a combin- ation of law and fad, it is ufual for the jurors to decide the fad:, and to refer the law" arifnig on it to the decifion of the judges. Bat this divifion of the fubjed lies with their difcretion only. And if the queilion relate to any point of public liberty, or if it be one of thofe in vmich the judges may be fufpecled of bias, the jury undertake to decide both law and fa<ft. If they be midaken, a decifion againd right, which is caiual only, is lefs danger- ous to the date, and lefs aniicting to the lofer, than one which makes part of a regular and uni- form fydem. In truth it is better to tofs up crof'; and pile in a caufe, than to refer it to a judge whofe mind is warped by any motive whatever, in that particular cafe. But the common fenfe of twelve
iSo NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
honed men gives ftill a better chance of juH declf- ion, than the hazard of crofs and pile. Thefe judges execute their procefs by the fheriff or cor- oner of the county, or by conftables of their own appointment. If any free perfon commit an of- fence againft the commonwealth, if it be below the degree of felony, he is bound by a juftice to ap- pear before their court, to anfwer it on indictment or information. If it amount to felony, he is com- mitted to jail, a court of thefe juftices is called; if they on examination think him guilty, they fend him to the jail of the general court, before which court he is to be tried hrft by a grand jury of 24, of whom 13 mull: concur in opinion : if they find him guilty, he is then tried by a jury of 1 2 men of the county where the offence was committed, and by their virdidt, which muft be unanimous, he is acquitted or condemned without appeal.. If the Criminal be a flave the trial by the county court is final. In every cafe however, except that of high treafon, there refides in the governor a pov\'er of pardon. In high treafon, the pardon can only flow from the general affembiy. In civil matters tliefe jnftices have jurifdidion in all cafes of v»-hatever X'^alue, not appertaining to the department of the admiralty. This jurifdiclion is two-fold. If the 7r>r ttcr in di(pute be of lefs value than four dollars •'.nd one-fixth, a fingle member may try it at any time and place within his county, and may award execution on the goods of the party caiL If it be of that or greater value, it is determinable before the county court, which confifts of four at the lead of thofe juiliccs, and afremblies at the court-houfe ^f the county on a certain day in every month,- S'l'nin their dctcrniinationj if the matter be of thi
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. iS^i.
value of ten pounds fterling, or concern the title or bounds of lands, an appeal lies to one of the fupe- rior courts.
There are three fuperior courts, to wit, the high-court of chancery, the general court, and the court of admiralty. The hrit and fecond of thefe receive appeals from the county courts, and alfo have original jurifdidion, where the fubject of con- troverfy is of the value of ten pounds iterling, or Vv^here it concerns the title or bounds of land. The junfdi(5lion of the admiralty is original altogster. The high court of chancery is compofed of tliree judges, the general court of five, and the court of admiralty of three. The two firft hold their {q{- fions at Richmond at ftated times, the chancery twice in the year, and the general court twice for bufmefs civil and criminal, and twice more for criminal only. The court of admiralty fits at 'Wdliamfburgh whenever a controverfy arifes.
There is one fupreme court, called the court of appeals, compofed of the judges of the three fupe- rior courts, aifembling twice a year at ftated times at Richmond. This court receives appeals in all civil cafes from each of the fuperior courts, and determines them finally. But it has no original jurifdidion.
If a controverfy arife between two foreigners of a nation in alliance with the United States, it is decided by the conful for their ftate, or, if both parties chufe it, by the ordinary courts of juftice. If one of the parties only be fuch a foreigner, it is triable before the courts of juftice of the countrj^ But it it {hall have been inftituted in a county <:ourt, the foreigner m.ay remove it into the gener- al court, or court of chancery, who are to deler-
i82 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
mine it at their fird feffions, as they muil alfo da if it be originally commenced before them. Iri ca'.'es of life and death, fuch foreigners have a right to be tried by a jury, the one«half foreigners, the other natives.
Ail public accounts are fettled with a board of auditors, conliiling of three members, appointed by the general aiTembly, any two of whom may a6t. But an individual, dilfatisfied with the deter- .mination of that board, may carry his cafe inta the proper fuperior court.
A defcription of the laws.
The general aflembly v/as condituted, as has been already lliewn, by letters-patent of March the 9th, 1 607, in the 4th year of the reign of James the finl:. The laws of England feem to have been adopted by confent of the fettlers, which might eafdy enough be done whilil they were few and living all together. Of fuch adoption however, we have no other proof than their practice till the year i66r, wh=n they were exprefly adopted by an act of the affembly, except fo far as * a differ- ence of condition' rendered thera inapplicable. Under this adoption, the rule, in our courts of ju- dicature, was that the common law of England, and the general (latutes previous to the 4th of James, were in force here ; but that no fubfequent ilatutes were, unlefs ive avere named in them^ faid the judges and otlier partifans of tiie crown, but named or not named, faid thofe who reliected freely. It will be unnecefiary to attempt a defcription of the laws of Eno^land, as that may be found in Englilh pub* lications. To thofe which were eilabliilied here, by the adoption of the legiilature, have been fmce added a number of avfls of alfembly palTed during
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. ig^^
the -monarchy, and ordiniinces of convetion and ads of aifembl}'" enacted fnice the ellablilhment of the repubhc. The following variations from the Britifli model are perhaps worthy of being fpecified.
Debtors unable to pay their debts, and making; faithful delivery of their whole effects, are releafed from confinement, and their perfons for ever dif- charged from reftraint for fuch previous debts : but any property they may afterwards acquire will be fubject to their creditors.
The poor unable to fupport themfelves, arc ■maintained by an aileffment on the tytheable per- fons in their pariili. This afTeifment is levied and adminiftered by twelve perfons in each parifh, cal- led vcftrymen, originally chofen by the houfe- keepers of the pariih, but afterwards filling vacan- cies in their own body by their own choice. Thefe are ufually the mod difcreet farmers, fo diftributed through their parifh, that every part of it may be mider the immediate eye of fome one of them. They are well acquainted with the details and eco- nomy of private life, and they find fufEcient in- ducements to execute their charge well, in their philanthropy, in the approbation of their neigh- bors, and the diftindion which that gives them. The poor who have neither property, friends, nor flrength to labor, are boarded in the houfes of good farmers, to whom a flipulated fum is annu- ally paid. To thofe who are able to help them- felves a little, or have friends from whom they de- rive fome fuccors, inadequate howewer to their full maintenance, fiipplementary aids are given -which enable them to live comfortably in their own houfes, or in the houfes of their friends. Vaga- bonds without vifibie property or vocation, are
tS4 notes on VIRGINIA.
placed in workhoufes, v'here they are well cloath- ed, fed, lodged, and made to labor. Nearly the fame method of providing for the poor prevails through all our ftates ; and from Savannah to Portfmouth you will feldom meet a beggar. In the larg^er towns indeed they fometimes prefent themfelves. Thefe are ufually foreigners who have never obtained a fettlement in any parifh. I never faw a native American bereinp; in the ftreets or highways. A Subfiftence is eafily gained here : <ind if, by misfortunes, they are thrown on the charities of the world, thofe provided by their own country are fo comfortable and fo certain, that they never think of relinquifhing them to become ftrolling beggars. Their fituation too, when fick, in the family of a good farmer, where every mem- ber is emulous to do • them kind offices, where they are vifited by all the neighbors, who bring them the little rarities which their fickly appetites may crave, and who take by rotation the nightly watch over them, when their condition requires it, is without comparifon better than in a general hofpital, where the fick,' the dying, and the dead are crammed together, in the fame rooms, and of- ten in the fame beds. The difadvantages, infepa- rable from general hofpitals, are fuch as can never be counterpoifed by all the regularities of medicine and reo-imen. Nature and kind nurfm? fave a much greater proportion in our plain way, at a fmaller expence, and with lefs abufe. One branch only of hofpital inftitution is wanting with us ; that is, a general cftabliihment for thofe laboring imder difficult cafes of chirurgery. The aids of this art are not equivocal. But an able chirarg- €on cannot be had in every parifh. Such.axecep-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. iS;
tacle fhoiild therefore be provided for thofe pa- tients : but no others fhould be admitted.
Marriages muft be folemnized either on fpecial licence, granted by the firll magiftrate of the coun- ty, on proof of the confent of the parent or guar- dian of either party under age, or after folemn pubhcation, on three feveral Sundays, at fome place of religious worfliip, in the parifties where the parties refide. The adl of folemnization may be by the minifter of any fociety of Chriftians, who ihall have been previoufly licenfed for this purpofe by the court of the county. Quakers and Menon- ifts however are exempted from all thefe conditions, and marriage amongft them is folemnized by the ifociety itfelf.
A foreigner of any nation, not in open war with us, becomes naturalized by removing to the ftate to refide, and taking an oath of fidelity : and there- upon acquires every right of a native citizen : and citizens may divefh themfelves of that charader, by declaring, by folemn deed, or in open court, that they mean to expatriate themfelves, and no longer be citizens of this ftate.
Conveyances of land muft be regiftered in the court of the county wherein they lie, or in the gen- eral court, or they are void, as to creditors, and fubfequent purchafers.
Slaves pafs by defcent and dower as lands do. "Where the defcent is from a parent, the heir is bound to pay an equal fhare of their value in mon- ey to each of his brothers and fifters.
Slaves, as well as lands were entailable during the monarchy ; but, by an aft of the firft repub- lican afiembly, all donees in tail, prefent and\fiu
186 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
tare, were vefted with the abfolote dommion of the entailed fubjecl.
Bills of exchange, being protefbed, carry, lo per cent, interell from their date.
No perfon is allowed, in any other cafe, to take more than five per cent, per annum fimple interell for the loan of monies.
Gaming debts are made void, and monies ac- tually paid to difcharge fuch debts (if they exceed 40 fhillings) may be recovered by the payer with- in three monchs, or by any other perfon afterwards. Tobacco, Hour, beef, pork, tar, pitch, and ter- pentine, mult be infpcvfted by perfons publickly ap- pointed, before they can be exported.
The erecting iron-works and mills Is encouraged by many privileges ; with neceliary cautions how- ever to prevent their dams from obftrudling the navigation of the watcr-courfes. The general af- fcmbly have on feveral occafions fhewn a great de- ilre to encourage the opening the great falls of James and Potowmac rivers. As yet, however, neither of thcfe have been effe(^ed.
The laws have alio defcended to the preferva- tion and improvement of the races of ufeful anl- rnalsi fuch as horfes, cattle, deer ; to the extirpa- tion of thofe which are noxious, as wolves, fquirrels, crows, blackbirds ; and to the guarding our citi- zens againft infedlious diforders, by obliging fuf- pefted velfels commg into the (late, to perform quarantine, and by regulating the conduct of per- fons having fuch diforders v.'ithin the (late.
The mode of acquiring lands, in the earlieft times of our fettlement, was by petition to the ge- neral affembly. If the lands prayed for were al- ready cleared of the Indian title, and the aflembly
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 187
thought the prayer reafonable, they pafled the pro" perty by their vote to the petitioner. But if they had not yet been ceded by the Indians, it was ne- cefTary that the pelitioiiPi^ Ihould previoufly pur- chaie their right. This purchafe the affembly ve- rified, by enquieries of the Indian proprietors ; and being fatisfied of its reahty and fairnefs, proceeded farther to examine the reafonablenefs of the peti- tion, and its confiilence with poHcy ; and accord- ing to the refult, either granted or rejected the pe- tition. The company aUb fometimes, though very rarely, granted lands, independantly of the gener- al aliembly. As the colony increafed, and individ- ual applications for land multiplied, it was found to give too much occupation to the general affembly to enquire into and execute the grant in every fpe- cial cafe. They therefore thought it better to ef- tablilh general rules according to which all grants Ihould be made, and to leave to the governor the execution of them, under thefe rules. This they did by what have been ufually called the land laws, amending them from time to time, as their defeds were developed. According to thefe laws, when an individual wifhed a portion of unappropriated land, he was to locate and furvey it by a public of- ficer, appointed for that purpofe : its breadth was to bear a certain proportion to its length : the grant w^as to be executed by the governor : and the lands were to be improved in a certain manner, within a given time. From thefe regulations there refalted to the ftate a fole and exclufive power of taking conveyances of the Indian right of foil : fince, according to them an Indian conveyance alone could give no right to an individual, which the laws w^ouM acknowledge. The ftate, or th»
2S8 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
crown, thereafter, made general purchafes of the Indians from time to time, and the governor par- celled them out by fpecial grants, conformed to the rules before defcribed, which it was not in his power, or in that of the crown, to difpenfe with. Grants, unaccompanied by their proper legal cir- aimftances, were fet afide, Ttgul^rlj fcirefaciaj^ iDi' by bill in chancery. Since the eftablilliment of our new government, this order of things is but little changed. An individual, wifhing to appro- priate to himfelf lands ftill unappropriated by any- other, pays to the public treafurer a fum of mone/ proportioned to the quantity he v^ants. He car- 1 ies the treafurer*s receipt to the auditors of public accounts, who thereupon debit the treafurer with the fum, and order the regifter of the land-office to give the party a warrant for his land. With this warrant from the regifter, he goes to the furveyor of the county where the land lies on which he has caft his eye. The furveyor lays it off for him, gives him its exa6t defcription, in the form of a -cirtificate, which crtificate he returns to the land office, where a grant is made out, and is figned by the governor. This vefts in Iiim a perfect domin- :ion in his lands, tranfmilfable to whom he pleafes by deed or will, or by defcent to his heirs if he die imteftate.
Many of the laws which Vvcre m force during ^lic monarchy being relative merely to that form of government, or inculcating principles inconfift- ent with republicanifm, the firft aflembly which Tnet after the eftablifliment of the commonwealth appointed a committee to revife the v/hole code, to reduce it into proper form and volume, and re» itit'tt it W the a/Tembly. This work has been exe-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. i8^
cuted by three gentlemen, and reported ; but pro- bably will not be taken up till a reftoration of peace fliall leave to the legifiature leifure to go through fuch a work.
The plan of the revlfal was this. The com- mon law of England, by which is meant, that part of the Engliih law which was anterior to the date of the oideil (latutes extant, is made the bafis of the work. It was thought dangerous to attempt to reduce it to a text : it was therefore left to be colledted from the ufual monuments of it. Neceffary alterations in that, and fo much of the whole body of the Britifh ftatutes, and of ads of aflembly, as were thought proper to be retained, were digelted into 126 new a<5ts, in which fimpli- city of ftyle was aimed at, as far as was fafe* The following are the moft remarkable alterations propofed :
To change the rules of defcent, fo as that the lands of any perfon dying inteftate fhall be divifi- ble equally among all his children, or other repre- fentatives, in equal degree.
To make flaves diltributable among the next of kin, as other moveables.
To have all public expenfes, whether of the ge- neral treafury, or of a parilh or county, (as for the maintenance of the poor, building bridges, court- houfes, &c. ) fupplied by aifeffments on the citizens, in proportion to their property.
To hire undertakers for keeping the public roads in repair, and indemnify individuals through whofe lands new roads fhall be opened.
To define with precifion the rules whereby aliens fhould become citijieiis, and citizens jnakg themfelves aliens*
190 NOTES ON VIRGINIA
To eftablifli religious freedom on the broadeft bottom.
To emancipate all flaves bom after paffing the aft. The bill reported by the revifors does not itfelf contain this proportion ; but an amendment containing it was prepared, to be offered to the le- glflature whenever the bill fnould be taken up^ and further directing, that they fnould continue with their parents to a certain age, then be brought up, at the public expence, to tillage, arts or fci- ences, according to their genuiuffes, till the females fhould be eighteen, and the males twenty-one years of age, when they fliould be colonized to fuch place as the circumftances of the time iliould render mod proper, fending them out with arms, implements of houfehold and the handicraft arts, feeds, pairs of the ufeful dome flic animals, &c. to declare them a free and independent people, and extend to them our alliance and proteftion till they have acquired ftrength ; and to fend vef- fels at the fame time to other parts of the world for an equal number of whits inhabitants : to in- duce whom to migrate hither, proper encourage- ments were to be propofed. It will probably be afked, Why not retain and Incorporate the blacks into the (late, and thus fave the expence of fup- plying by importation of white fettlers, the vacan- cies they will leave ? Deep rooted prejudices en- tertained by the whites ; ten thoufand recolledions, by the blacks, of the injuries they have full: ained ; new provocations ; the real diilinftions which na- ture has made ; and many other circumftances, will divide us into parties, and produce convulfions, which will probably never end but in the extermi- nation of the one or the other race. — To thefe ob-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 191
jeftions, which are poHtical, may be added others, which are phyfual and moral. The firil differ- ence which ilrikes us is that of color. Whether the black of the negro refides in the reticular mem- brane between the fkin and fcarf-fkin, or in the fcarf-lkin itlelf ; whether it proceeds from the color of the blood, the color of the bile, or form that of fome other fecretion, the difference is fixed in na- ture, and is as real as if its feat and caufe were better known to us. And is this difference of no importance ? Is it not the foundation of a greater or lefs Ihare of beauty in the two races ? Are not the fine mixtures of red and white, the exprefTions of every paffion by greater or lefs fuffufions of col- or in the one, preferable, to that eternal monoto- ny, which reigns in the countenances, that im- moveable veil of black which covers all the emo- tions of the other race ? Add to thefe, flowing hair, a more elegant fymmetry of form, their own judgment in favor of the whites, declared by the preference of them, as uniformly as is the prefer- ence of the Oranootan for the black women over thofe of his own Ipecies. The circumllance of fu- perior beauty, is thought worthy attention in the propagation of our horfes, dogs, and other domef- tic animals ; why not in that of man ? Befides thofe of color, figure, and hair, there are other phyfical diftin-ftions proving a difference of race. They have lefs hare on the face and body. They fecrete lefs by the kidnies, and more by the glands of the ikin, which gives them a very firong and difagree- able odor. This greater degree of tranfpiration renders them more tolerant of heat, and lefs fo of cold than the whites. Perhaps too a difference of ftrudure in the pulmonary apparatus, which a late
192 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
ingenius* experlmentalift has difcovered to be the principal regulator of animal heat, may have oif- abled them from ext''-icating, in the a<5t of infpira- tion, fo much of that tiuid from the outer air, or obliged them in expiration to part with more of it. They feem to require lefs fleep. A black af- ter hard labor through the day, will be induced by the flighted amufsments to fit up till midnight, or later though knowing he mud be out with the firft dawn of the morning. They are at lead as brave and more adventurefome. But this may perhaps proceed from a want of forethought, which prevents their feeing a danger till it be pref- ent. When prefent, they do not go through it with more coolnefs or fteadinefs than the whites. They are more ardent after their female : but love feems with them to be more an eager defire, than a tender delicate mixture of fentimenfe and fenfa- tion. Their griefs are tranfient. Thofe number- lefs affli<5lions, which render it doubtful whether heaven has given life to us in mercy or in wrath, are lefs felt, and fooner forgotten Vv^ith them. In general, their exiftence appears to participate more of fenfation than reflexion. To this muft be af- cribed their difpofition to fleep when abftra<51:ed from their diverfions, and unemployed in labor. An animal whofe body is at reft, and who does not refleit, muft be difpofed to fleep of courfe. Comparing them by their faculties of memory, rea- fon and imagination, it appears to me that in mem- ory they are equal to the whites ; in reafon much •inferior, as I think one could fcarcely be found capable of tracing and comprehending the invefti- ;gations of Euclid ; and that in imagination they ■; : .•:•': A.;',; — ~= - i ,.r ... >,,. . i.ifc .
* .Craiuford.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 1^3
xre dull, teftacles, and anomalous. It would be unfair to follow them to Africa for this invelliga- tion. We will confider them here, on the fame ftage with the whites, and where the faints arc not apocryphal on which a judgment is to be formed. it will be right to make great allowance for the diiFerence of condition, of education, of converfa- tion, of the fphere in which they move. Many millions of them have been brought, to and bora in America. Mod of them indeed have been con- fined to tillage, to their own homes, and their own fociety : yet many have been fo fituated, that they might have availed themfelves of the converfation of their mafters ; many have been brought up to the handicraft arts, and from that circumftance have always been afTociated with the whites. Some have been liberally educated, and all have lived in countries where the arts and fciences are cul- tivated to a confiderable degree, and have had be- fore their eyes famples of the bed works from abroad. The Indians, with no advantages of this kind, will often carve figures on their pipes not deftitute of defign and merit. They will crayon out an animal, a plant, or a country, fo as ta prove the exillence of a germ in their minds which only wants cultivation. They aftonifh you with ftrokes of the moft fublime oratory ; fuch as prove their reafon and fentiment ftrong, their imagina- tion glowing and elevated. But never yet could I find a black that had uttered a thought above the level of plain narration ; never fee even an ele- mentary trait of painting or fculpture. In mufie they are more generally gifted than the whiter, with accurate ears for tune and time, and they h3,yQ been found capable of imaginging a ibaaH
A A
594- NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
catch.* Whether they will be equal to the com- pofition of a more extenlive run of melody, or of complicated harmony is yet to be proved. MIfery is often the parent of the moil atfcclin^ touches in poetry. Among the blacks is mif:^ry enouofh, God knows, but no poetry. Love is the pecuhar ceftrum of the poet. Their love is ardent, but it kindles the fenfes only, not the imagination. Reli- gion indeed has produced a Phyllis Whately ; but it could not produce a poet. The compofitions publidied under her name are below the dignity of criticifm. The heroes of the Dunciad are to her, as Hercules to the author of that poem. Ignatius Sancho has approached nearer to merit in compo- fition ; yet his letters do more honor to the heart than the head. They breathe the pureft effufions of friendfhip and general philanthropy, and fhew how great a degree of the latter m.ay be compoun- ded with ftrong religious zeal. He is often happy in the turn of his compliments, and his ftile is eafy and familiar, except when he aifefts a Shandean fabrication of words. But his imagination is wild and ejctravagant, efcapes inceifantly from every re- ftraint of reafon and tafte, and, in the courfe of its vagaries, leaves a tract of thought as incoherent and eccentric as is tlie courfe of a meteor through the fl^y. His fubjecfts fliould often have led him to a procefs of fober reafoning : yet we find him always fubftituting fentiment for demonftration. — Upon the whole, though we adm^it him to the
* The Inflrument proper to them Is the Banjar^ <wh'ich they brought hither from Africa, and which is the ori- ginal of the guitar, its chords heivg precifely the four Jower chords of the guitar.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 19^
firft place among thofe of his own color who have prefented tlicrnieives to the public judgement, ye|: when we compare him w th the writers of the race among whom he lived and particularly with the epiiloiarly clais, in which he has taken his own ftand, we are compelled to enroll him at the bot- tom of the column. This criticifm fuppofes the letters publiilied under his name to be genuine, and to have received amendment from no other hand : points which would net be of eafj invefti- gation. The improvement of the blacks in body and muid, m the firft inilance of their mixture with the whites, has been obferved by every one, and proves ^ that their inferiority is not the'eiiecl: merely of their condition of life. We know that among the Romans, about the Auguftan age efpe- tially, the condition of their Haves was much more deplorable than that of the blacks on ths. Gontment of America. The two fexes were con- fined in feparate apartments, becaufe to raife a child coll the mafter more than to buy one. Cato, for a very reih-ided indulgence to his flaves in this particular,* took from them a certain price. But in this country the flave multiply as fait as the free inhabitants. Their fituation and manners place the commerce between the two fexes almoll without ■ reilramt.— The lame Cato, on a principle of gecoii- orny, always fold his lick and lupernumerated flavcs. He gives it as a fianding precept to a mailer viiitiiig his farm to fell his old oxen, old v.v.ggons, old tools, old and difeafed fervants, and tlfliil'^'^J^^^ become ufeleis. 'Vendatboves
* Tons doulous etaxen crifmenou nomefmatQi; ^omilehx tais oherapainifm. J'Jutarch, Cat^
196 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
* vctulos, pkuftrum vetus, ferramenta Vetera, fur- ' vum fenem, lervum morbofum, & i\ quid aliud
* fiiperfit vendat.' Cato de re ruftlca. c. 2. The American Haves cannot enumerate this amono- the injuries and infults they receive. It was the com- mon praftice to expofe in the ifland ^Efculapius, in the Tyber, difeafed flaves, whcfe cure was hke to become tedious.* The emperor Claudius, by an edidt, gave freedom to fuch of them as fhould recover, and firft declare that if any perfon chofe to kill rather than expofe them, it fliould be deem- ed homicide. The expofmg them is a crime of which no inftance has exifted M^ith us ; and were I'c to be followed by death, it would be punilhed cap- itally.^ We are told of a certain Vedius Pollio, who, in the prefence of Anguilus, would have given a Have as food to his fifh, for having broken a glafs. With the Romans, the regular method of taking the evidence of their flaves was under tor- ture. Kere it has been thought better never to refort to their evidence. When a mafter was murdered, all his flaves, in the fame houfe, oi* within hearing, were condemned to death. Here puniihment falls on the guilty only, and as precife proof is required againll him as againil a freeman. Y'et notwithllanding thefe and other difcouraging circumftances among the Romans, their flaves were often their rareft artifts. They excelled too ni fcicnce, infomuch as to be ufually employed as tutorj to their matter's children. Epiftetus, Te- rence, and Pliaedrus were flaves. But they were of the race of whites. It is not their condition then, but nature, which has produced the didinc- t!on. — Whether further obfervatiun will or will not
* SucL Claud. 2T.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 197
Verify the conje<5lure, that nature has been lefs bountiful to them in the endowments of the- head, I believe that in thofe of the heart fhe will be found to have done them juftice. That difpoiitlon to theft with which they have been branded, muft be afcribed to their fituation, and not to any de- pravity of the moral fenfe. The man, in whofe favor no laws of property exift, probably feels him- felf lefs bound to refped thoie made in favor of others. When arguing for ourfelves, we lay it down as a fundamental, that laws, to be jult, mud give a reciprocation of right : that, without this, they are mere arbitrary rules of conduv51, founded, in force, and not in confcience : and it is a problem which I give to the matter to folve, whether the re- ligious precepts againft the violation of property were not framed for him as well as his flave ? And whether the flaves may not as juftifiably take a little from one, who has taken all from him, as he may flay one who would ilay him ? That a change in the relations in which a man is placed Ihouid change his ideas of moral right and wrong, is nei- ther new, nor peculiar to the color of the blacks. Homer tells us it was fo 2600 years ago.
'Emifii,ger i* aretes opoatnutai eiiruopa Zeus HaneroSi eut' an min kata do n lion ema ehjin,
Od. 17. 323* Jove fix'd it certain, that whatever day Makes man a flave takes half his worth aWay.
But the fiaves of which Homer fpeaks were whites. Notwithllanding thefe eonfiderations which mufl weaken their refpe'ft for the laws of property^ We find among them numerous inftances of th«
ipS NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
incil rlged integrity, and as many as among their better inilrufted mailers, of benevolence, gratitude, and unliiakcn fidelity. — The opinion, that they are inferior in the faculties of reafon and imagination, muil: be hazarded with great diffidence. To juf- tify a general ^onclufion, requires many obferva- tions, ev^n where the fubjed may be fubmitted to the anatomical knife, to optical clafTes, to analyfis by iire, or by folvents. How much more then ^vhere it is a faculty, not a fubftance, we are ex- amining ; where it eludes the refearch of all the fenfes ; where the conditions of its exillcnce are various and variouily combined ; where the effe6ts of thofe which are prefent or abfent bid defiance to calculation ; let me add too, as a circumftance of great tendernefs, where our conclufion would degrade a whole race of men from the rank in the fcale of beings which their Creator may perhaps have given them. To our reproach it mull be faid, that though for a century and a half we have had under our eyes the races of black and of red men, they have never yet beeji viewed by us as fubjeds of natural hiUory. I advance it therefore as a fuipicion only, that the blacks, whether originally a dillinll race, or made diilinci: by time and circum- llances, are inferior to the whites in the endow- ments both of body and mind. It is not againfl experience to fuppofe, that different fpecies of the fame genius, or varieties of the fame fpecies, may pofiefs different qualifications. Will not a lover of natural hillory then, one who views the gradations in all the races of animals with the eye ofphilofo- phy, excufe an effort to keep tbole in the depart- ment of man as diilindl as nature has formed tliQm ? This unfortunate difference of <;olor, aad
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. ' 199
perhaps; of faculty, is a powciful obfracle to the emancipation of thefe people. Mciny cf their ad- vocates, while they wifh to vindicate the liberty of hu.nan niiture are anxious alfo to preferve its dig- nity and beauty. Some of thefe, embarrafTed by the queftion, * "What further is to be done with them ! Join thernfelves in oppofition with thofe who are afcuated by fordid avarice only. Among the Romans emancipation required but one effort. The llave, when made free, might mix with, Avithout ftaining the blood of his mafter. But with us a fecond is neceffary, unknown to hiftoryr When freed, he is to be removed beyond the reach of mixture.
The revifed code further propofes to proportion crimes and punifhments. This is attempted oa the following fcale.
|
t |
i» |
f « * |
||||||
|
^ o |
i^ 3J t^ |
CJ |
||||||
|
t. |
<u |
u j^ G |
,:i |
|||||
|
ri |
> |
• ►>, O O |
^ |
|||||
|
CU'ZJ |
8-1 f^ 4-1 (-. |
a> |
||||||
|
' |
1 a} |
- S-i ^ *-* |
rl3 4-) O 4-* |
|||||
|
rC |
•T3 |
|||||||
|
4-* r— ( |
-^ o |
O O |
||||||
|
P |
y i-; ^ <U |
JxO |
||||||
|
% |
?^ --; 13 ciJ |
|||||||
|
o |
• - ^ r; u |
r: |
||||||
|
O |
^ C <U '^ |
t/> |
||||||
|
4-J |
aj |
t.O ;3 ^ M |
'd |
|||||
|
CO |
i-, |
c ^ +t rt |
G |
|||||
|
o o rl |
^3 O O So |
1 |
J2 |
'5 ^^^ |
||||
|
•73 O 4-1 O |
O |
W5 1 |
r2 -o fco qj fcp^^ aj "P |
4-> %-( -^ ^r-> o |
||||
|
G |
G O O (L) ;-< 4-> o |
4i 4-1 |
||||||
|
ends to Life. >y hanging, re of lands an |
y hanging, re of half the Death by po |
diicl. Death bv ha Forfeiture of any other way. Deat Forfe The fecond offence is |
• o 4-1 U5 |
4-> G s |
r-< G |
|||
|
ment ext Death b ForfeJtu Death b Forfeltu |
'o a, |
€J o be 4-i o |
s |
G .2 '4J .3 15 +j CD |
||||
|
*5 « |
• |
J |
G « |
'S |
« |
P^ |
||
|
a^ ' |
« |
<^ CO ^ |
t3( |
"^A^-^ |
'"^ |
|||
|
^s |
■j 1 |
S^ |
til |
X |
^1 |
|||
|
o |
<D |
r^ |
o |
.^ s |
.G G |
|||
|
»^ ri^ |
t» |
nd |
■CG , |
rl |
C bO |
|||
|
^K 1 |
4-1 *-> 2h |
V4 |
1^ |
g« CO |
||||
|
.« M |
« |
to |
4' |
's^ |
M Ci |
CO 4° |
||
|
<J |
o |
M
Malt
|
i: « ^ rt c^ |
u |
||
|
E'^ S g 2i |
ssi |
||
|
*-j^p o-^ |
o |
||
|
^ "=* § c *> 2i S o |
(5 |
• a |
U G |
|
^O |
o |
.2 2 |
|
|
2 5S-5 |
•— * |
||
|
4-1 |
4^ |
'2 'Zj |
|
|
rt |
rt |
« rt «S |
|
|
• "~' i-i |
4-1 |
u |
>H t< S |
|
's'^-sS. |
rt |
VS a. |
S 5 a. |
|
I<22« |
«j |
4> |
^ w >: |
|
P^ |
P^ |
(^C^oi |
|
|
•a "g |
|||
|
i ■ §0 . |
« |
4 |
S* .O.-^ C^ 5 S rt
Ww<
trj r^ ir^NO C^W On O *- <^ fO '♦"
B «
202 KOTES ON VIRGINIA-
Pard®n and pfivilege of 'clergy are pr ope fed to- be abolifned j bat if the verdictLbe agamit the de- fendant, the court ill their' difcretion tr.ayVilovv- a iievv tri^l. Is o: attainder to' cauitra- corruption of blood, or forfeiture .of dovrer.': Slave's guilty of ofFences punimable in others by-labor, to be tranf- portedto Arficn,Gr eK^where, as tHe eirciimRances of the time aferr-rtj-thers to-^fee continued mil av cry. A rigorous regimen propofed for-^thofc condemn- ed to jahcr.
Another opjeci of the reyifal is, to diffnfe knc.\r- ledge more geijerally. through the mafs of the people. - This bill propofes to lay off every county into fmiill diitri'fts of five cr iix miles fqnare, cal- led hundreds, and in 'each, of them to edablifa a ichcci fcr t^acliing reading, writing,' and arithme- tic. The tiaEor'to he fuppbrted by", the hundred snd eveiy perfon in it entitled ,to ^ty^A their chii- dien three ye-ars gratis, ?nd-.as j-Riich longer as they pleafe, payirfg- for it. Thefe fehools to be under a vlfitor "wdio-i? aHnually to chufe xhs. boy, of beil genius in the fchooL, of thr^fe" jv^l^efe parents are too- poor to give them further education, and to fend him forward to one of the grammar fchools, cf which twenty- are'prcpofed to be ereol^d in different parts of the: country, for teaching Greek," Latin, geogra- phy, and the Irigh'cr branches. of num.erical arith- metic Of the boys thus fent in oue year,- trial is to be made at the (rrammar fchools one or tv/o- years, a»d. 'the beft genius, of the v-hoie feiccied, and (^ontini;ied fix years, and the ixifiilue difmiifed. !Bt this me,ans twenty 6f the 'beft (^-exiiLilTcs yyill be raked from the rubbifn annually, and be inftru^l- cd, at the public exp'ence, fo far as the grammar Ichools go. At the end of fix years inflructicn^.
NOTES ON VIkGINA. 203
■one hall are to 'be difcontinued (from among
■whom the grammar fcHools will probably be fup- plied with iiiture mailers ; and the.ctlier Iialt^ \yho are to be cholen for tlieTapenority of their parts, jind difpofitionj are to be fent'and continued three, years in the ftudy of fa ch faiences as .they, fliall chufe, at William and Mary collega, the plan of which is propofed to be enlarged, as will be here- after explained,, and extended to all the ufeiul fci- ences. The ultimate refult of the whole fcheme of edacation would be the teaciilnc^ all the chil-. drcn of the (late reading, writing, and common arithmetic; turning cut ten annualy.of fuperior genius, well taught in Greek, Latin, geography, 'dnd the hip-her branches of arithmetic : turninc? out ten others aniluallv, of fiillfuperior parts, Aylio., to thofe branches ©f learning, fhall liav.e added fuchofthe fciences as their renius fnall have led them to ; the rurniihing to the wealthier part of the people convenient fchools, at which their chil- dren may be educated attheir ov.m expeuc-e. The f general obiects of this law are to provide an edu~ cation adapted to the years, to the capacity, and the condition of every one, and direcled to their freedom nnd happinefs. Specific details were net proper for the law. Thefe muil be, the bufinefs of the vifitors entrulled'^yith/fts execution. The Eriy "ihl?te Of this education being; the fchools of the hun- GYzds v/herein the great mafs of the , people v/ili receive their iriftruGtio:Tii the pilnciple foundations •Ox'iuture Order will b^ laid here. Inftead there- fore of piitting-the Bible and TeiLament into ths hands of the cliildren a^t an as^e whsn their iudg- ments are riot fufficiently matured for religious in- ■.^uleries, their meniorics .may here bs flcred wick'
^4 NOTES ON VIRGINIA*
the mod ufeful fads from Grecian, Roman, Euro- pean and American hiftory. The firft elements of morality too may be inftilled into their minds ; fuch. as, when further developed as their judgments ad- vance in ftrength, may teach them how to work out rheirown greateft happineis,by fhewing them that it does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed them, but is always the refult of a good confcience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all juft purfuits. — Thofe whom ei- ther the wealth of their parents or the adoption of the ftate fhall deftine to higher degrees of learn- ing, will go on to the grammar fchools, which conftitute the next flage, there to be inftrudled in the languages. The learning Greek and Latin, I am told, is going into difufe in Europe. I know not what their manners and occuputlons may call for : but it would be very ill-judged in us to fol- low their example in this inftance. There is a certain period of life, fay from eight to fifteen or fixteen years of age, when the mind like the body is not yet firm enough for laborious and clofe op- erations. If applied to fuch, it falls an early vic- tim to pemature exertion : exhibiting indeed at firft, in thefe young and tender fubjeds, the flatter- ing appearance of their being men while they are yet children, but ending in reducing them to be children where they fhould be men. The memo- ry is then moft fufceptiblc and tenacious of ira- prcifions j and the learning of languages being chiefly a work of memory, it feems precifely fitted to the powers of this period, which is long enough too for acquiring the moft ufeful languages an- cient and modem. I do not pretend that lan- j,uage is fcience. Ix k only an inftrument for the
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 205
attainment of fcience. But that time is not loft which is employed in providing tools for future ©peration : more efpecially as in this cafe the books put into th6 hands of the youth for this pur- pofe may be fuch as will at the fame time imprefs their minds with ufeful fads and good principles. If this period be fuffered to pafs in idlcnefs, the mind becomes lethargic and impotent, as would the body it inhabits if unexercifed during the fame time. The fympathy between body and mind during their rife, progrefs and decline, is too ftridt and obvious to endanger our being mifled while we reafon from the one to the other. — As foon as they are of fufficient age, it is fuppofed they will be fent on from the grammar fchools to the uni- verfity, which conftitutes our third and laft ft age, there to ftudy thofe fciences which may be adapt- ed to their views. — By that part of our plan which prefcribes the feleclion of the youths of genius from among the clafTes of the poor, we hope to avail the ftate of thofe talents which nature has fown as liberally among the poor as the Hch, but v/hich perifli without ufe, if not fought for and cultivated. But of the views of this law none is more important, none more legitimate, than that of rendering the people the fafe, as they are the ultimate guardians of their own liberty. For this purpofe the reading in the firft ft;age, where they will receive tiieir whole education, is propofed, as has been faid, to be chiefly hiftorical. Hiftory by apprrfmg them of the paft will enable them to judge of the future ; it will avail them of the expe- rience of other times and other nations ; it will t^ualify them as judges of the adtions and defigns of men ; it will enable them to know ambition ua»
206" NOTES ON VIRGINiA.
der every difguife it may aiTtime,; aivd kiicwlng li^' to defeat its views. In every gov'enimeBt on earth is fome traces of human weaknefs, fome germ of corruption and degeneracy, which cunning v;ill' difcover, and v-ickednefs infenfibly open, cultivate and imorove. Every S'overnment deo-encrates wnen truPced to the rulers of the people alone. The people themfelves then are its only fafe depofito- ries. And to render them fate their minds mufl be improved to a certain degree. This indeed is not all that is neceifary, though it be eiTentially neceiiiiry. An amiendm.ent of our conftitution muil here come in aid of the public education. The influence over rrovernment muft be fnared among all the people. If every individual which compofes th;ir mafs participates of the ultimate authority, the gQvernraent will be fafe; becaufe the corrupting the whole mafs "will exceed any private refources of wealth : and public ones can^ not be provided but by levies on the people. In this cafe every man would have'to pay his own price. The government of Great-Britain has been cor- rupted, becau'e but one man in ten has a right to vote for members of parliament. The fellers of the o-o^v^ernment therefore ret nine-tenths of their j-ince clear. It has been thought that corruption is reRrained by confining.- the ricrht of fuffrage to a few of the v.^althier of tiie people : biit it would be more effe6]:ually rellrained by an exteniion of that right to fuch numbers as would bid deiiance to the means of corruption.
Laftly, it is propofed, by a bill in this revifal, to begin a public library and gallery, by laying out a certain fum annually in books, paintings, and ftatues.
Ki,' ji;.:-cj>jaj^..;fe;^ '-J'-Am^LK'-ii » <»'B. J-'^l*-i^a-gSBc-■^a»lM!l^»^aJ.,,J ji,.aa»a>g;;«i<.j;<st.-'
RY XV.
••<•••<■•< ?:f'->->.>-
J^F^X-IE colleges." and puHKc'ercablifhrnents, tlje ^. . roads, 5'u;laii?gs, &c. ?
ShQ college-, cf William and IMary is tlie only ^ . , ic ferninary of Learning in this Hate, It was founded in the tinie of king Wiiiiani and qasen IvWy^vHo.gfaritc.d.to It 2c>ooo acres. of land, ai;d a penny a pound, duty on certain, tobaccoes ex- ported from Virginia and Maryland, which had been'iievied by th_Q;ilatute of 25 Car. 2. The af- fembly alio gave it, by temporary. laws, a duty on liquors imported, and, l^ins and furs .exported. From theie refources it received up'wart^s.pf 3Qcql. cominunibus annis. The buildins-s are of brick, fuiScient for an indifferent accoiiinictation of per- haps 1X1} hundred -fludents. By its charter it vv^as
^ta, be under the government, of twenty vifitors, wlio were to be its Iegi{Jators.,.and to have apreii- dent and fix profelTors, who were iiiqorpor-afeed. It v.'as allowed a reprcfentative in the p-eneral aifem- bly. . Under this cliarter, a profefToriliip o£ Greek and Latin languages, a profetToriliip of math-e- matics, one of moral philofophy, and tv/o of di- vinity, were edablifned. To thefe were annexed, for a ilxth profe/rorlliip, a confiderable donatioii by Mr. Boyle of England, for the inftruction of the Indians, ana their converfion to Chriftianity. This .was called the profeiforfhip'of Braiferton, from an ePtate of that name in England, purchafed
. \xitli the. monies giY<iil. The admiiliQn of the
2oS NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
learners of Latin and Greek filled the college witk children. This rendered it difagreeable and de- grading to young gentlemen already prepared for entering on the ftiences, they were difcouragcd from reforting to it, and thus the fchools for ma- thematics and moral philofophy, which might have been of fome fervice, became of very little. The revenues too were exhaufted in accommodating thofe who came only to acquire the rudiments of fcience. After the prefent revolution, the vifitors, having no power to change thofe circumftances in the conftitution of the college which were fixed by the charter,and being therefore confined in the num- ber of profefTorfhlps, undertook to change the objedls of the profefforfhips. They excluded the two fchools for divinity, and that for the Greek and Latin languages, and fubftltuted others ; fo that at pref- ent they ftand thus :
A ProfefTorfhip for Law and Police ;
Anatomy and Medicine :
Natural Philofophy and Mathematics t
Moral Philofophy, die law of Nature stA Nations, the fine Arts :
Modern Languages i
For die BrafFerton. And it is propofed, {x) foon as the legiflature iliall have leifure to take up this fubjeft, to defire authority from them to incroafe the number of profefforfhips, as well for the purpofe of fubdivid- ing thofe already inftituted, as of adding others for odier branches of fcience. To the profefFor- Ihips ufually eftabliftied in the univerfities of Eu- rope, it would feem proper to add one for the an- cient languages and literature of the North, oa atcouct of their coane^ion with our own language
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 209
laws, cuftoms, and hlftory. The purpofes of ^he BrafFerton inftitution would ht better anfwered by maintaining a perpetual miilion among the In- dian tribes, the objed of which, befides inftrudling them in the principles of Chriftianity, as the foun- der requires, ihould be to collecT: their traditions, laws, cuftoms, languages, and other circumftances which might lead to a difcovery of their relation with one another, or defcent from other nations. When thefe objedts are accomplilhed with one tribe» miffionary might pafs on to another.
The roads are under the government of the county courts, fubjedt to be controled by the o-en- eral court. They order new roads to be opened wherever they think them neceffary. The Inhabit- ants of the county are by them laid off into pre- cinfls, to each of which they allot a convenient portion of the public roads to be kept in repair. Such bridges as may be built without the afliftance t)f artificers, they are to build. If the ftream be fuch as to require a bridge of regular workman- Ihip, the court employs workmen to build it, at the expence of the whole county. If it be too great for the county, application is made to the general afTembly, who authorife individuals to build it, and to take a fixed toll from all paffen- gers, or give fandtion to fuch other propofition as to them appears reafonable.
Ferries are admitted only at fuch places as are particularly pointed out by law, and the rates of ferriage are fixed.
Taverns are licenfed by the courts, who fix their rates from time to time.
The private buildings are very rarely conftrudl? ed of ftoiie or brick ; much the greateft portion be-
210 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
ing of fcantling and boards, plaiftered witli lime* It is impoflible to devife thmgs rriore ugly, un- comfortable, and happily more periiaable. There are two or three plans, on one of which, accord- ing to its flze, moil of the houfes in the (late are built. The pooreft people build huts of logs, laid horizontally in pens, flopping the intereftices with mud. Thefe are warmer in winter and cooler in fummer, than the more expenfive conftrudion of fcantling and plank. The wealthy ar^ attentive to the raifmg of vegetables, but very little fo to fruits. The poorer people attend to neither, liv- ing principally on milk and animal diet. This, is the more inexcufable, as the climate requires in- difpenfably a free ufe of vegetable food, for health as well as comfort, and is very friendly to the raif- ing of fruits. The only public buildmgs worthy mention are the capitol, the palace, the college, and the hofpital for lunatics, all of them in Wil- liamfburgh, heretofore the feat of our govemm.cnt. The capitol is a light and airy ftru<51:ure, wath a portico in front of two orders, the lower of which, being Doric, is tolerably jufc in its proportions and ornaments, fave only that the intccolonations are too large. The upper is Ionic, much too fm.all for that on which it is mounted, its ornaments not proper to the order, nor proportioned within them- felves. It is crowned with a pediment, which is too high for its fpan. Yet, on the whole, it is the moll pleafmg piece of architedure we have. The palace is not handfome without : but it is fpacious and commodious within, is prettily fituated, and with the grounds annexed to it, is capable of be- ing made an elegant feat. The college and hof- pital are rude, mif-ihapea piles, whi(^, but that
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. sir
they have roofs would be taken for brick-kilns. There are no other public buildings but churches and court-houfes, in which no attempts are made at elegance. Indeed it would not be eafy to exe- cute fuch an attempt, as a workman could fcarcely be found here capable of drawing an order. The genius of architedure feems to have fhed its male- dictions over this land. Buildings are often ered- ed by individuals of confiderable cxpence. To give thefe fymm.etry and tafte would not increafe their coft. It v/ould only change the arrange- ment of the materials, the form and combination of the members. This would often coft lefs than the burthen of barbarous ornoments with which thefe buildings are fometimes charged. But die iirft principles of the art are unknoT\-n, and there exifts fcarcely a model among us fufficiently chafte to give an idea of them. Architedture being one of the fine arts, and as fuch within tlie department of a profefTor of the college, according to the new arrangement, perhaps a fpark may fall on fomc young fubjeds of natural talle, kindle up their genius, and produce a reformation in this elegant and ufeful art. But all wc lliall do in this way will produce no permanent improvement to our country while the unhappy prejudice prevails that houfes of brick or ftone are lefs wholefome \hai3i thole of wood. A dew is often obferved on the ■ walls of the form^er in rainy weather, and the mo ft obvious folution is, that the rain has penetrnted through thefe wails. The follov/ing fads howev^ cr are fufficient to prove the error of this folution.
1. This dew upon the walls appears when there is no rain, if the ftate of the atmofphere be moift.
2, It appears on the partitioii as v/ell as the «x|,«*
212 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
rior walls, 3. So alio on pavements of brick cr Itone. 4. It is more copious in proportion as the- walls are thicker 5 the reverfe of which ought to be the cafe, if this hypothecs were juft. If cold water be poiTred into a vefTel of flone, or glafs, a dew forms inftantly on the outfide : but if it be poured into a veiTel of wood, there is no fuch ap- pearance. It is not fuppofed, in the firft cafe, that the water has exuded through the glafs, but that It is precipitated from the circumambient air ; as the humid particles of vapor, paffmg from the boiler of an alembic through its refrigerant, are precipitated from the air, in which they were fuf- pended, on the internal furface of the refring-erant. Walls of brick or ilone ad as the refrigerant in tliis mftance. They are fufficiently cold to condenfe and precipitate the moifture fufpended in the air of the room, when It is heavily charged therewith. But walls of wood are not fo. The queftion then is, whether air In which this molfture is left float- ing, or that which is deprived of it, be moft whole- fome ? In both cafes the remedy is eafy. A little Sre kindled in the room, whenever the air is damp, prevents the precipitation on the walls : and this praaice, found healthy in the warmeft as well as coldeft feafons, is as neceffary in a wooden as in a ilone or a brick houfe. I do not mean to fay, tliat the rain never penetrates through walls of hnd:. On the contrary I have feen inftances of It. ^ But with us it is only through the northern and eaftern walls of the houfe, after a north-eafter- ly ftorm. There being the only ones which con- tmue long enough to force through the walls. -^ his however happens too rarelv to give a jiift v]ura<fter of unvrhokfoni€n<jfs to fuch houfes. ' hi
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 21 j
s houfe, the walls of which are of well-burnt brick and good mortar, I have feen the rain penetrate through but twice in a dozen or fifteen years. The inhabitants of Europe, who dwell chiefly in houfes of ftone or brick, are furely as healthy as thofe of Virginia. Thefe houfes have the advan- tage too of being warmer in winter and cooler in. fummer than thofe of wood ; of being cheaper ia their firft conftru(51:ion, where lime is convenient, and infinitely more durable. The latter confider- ation renders it of great importance to eradicate this prejudice from the minds of our countrymen. A country whofe buildings are of wood, can never increafe in its improvements to any confiderable degree. Their duration is highly eilimated at 50 years. Every half century then our country be- comes a tabula rafa, whereon we have to fet out anew, as in the firlt moment of feating it. Where- as when buildings are of durable materials, every new edifice is an adual and permanent acquifition to the (late, adding to its value as well as to its or- iiament.
QUERY XVL
THE meafures taken with regard to the ef- tates and pofreflions of the rebels, common- ly called tories ?
A tory has been properly defined t^ be a traitor ill thought but not in deed. The only defcription^
314 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
by which the laws have endeavorod to come at them, v/as that of non-jurors, or perfons refufmg to take the oath of fidelity to the ftate. Perfons of this defcrlption were at one time fubjedted to dou- ble taxation, at another to treble, and laftly v/ere allowed retribution, and placed on a level with good citizens. It may be mentioned as a proof both of the lenity of our government, and unanim- ity of its inhabitants, that though this war has now •raged near feven years, not a fmgle execution for treafon has taken place.
Under this query I will ftate the meafures which have been adopted as to Britilh property, the own- ers of which ftand on a much fairer footing than the tories. By our laws, the fame as the Englifh •in this refpeft, no alien can hold lands, nor alien enemy maintain an action for money, or other moveable thing. Lands acquired or held by al- iens become forfeited to the ftate ; and, on an ac- tion by an alien enemy to recover m.oney, or other moveable property, the defendant may plead that he is an alien enemy. This extinguifhes his right in the hands of the debtor or holder of his movea- i)le property. By our feparation from Great-Brit- ain, Britlfh fubje<5ts became aliens, and being at v/ar, they were alien enemies. Their lands were ofcourfe forfeited, and their debts irrecoverable. The affembly however pafTed laws, at various times, for faving their property. They firft fe- queftered their lands, {laves, and other property on their farms in ihe hands of commiffioners, who ■were moftly the confidential friends or agents of the owners, and dired:ed their clear profits to be paid into the treafury : and they gave leave to all perfons owing debts to Britilh fubjecls to pay tiieja
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. n^
alio into the treafury. The monies fo to be brought in were declared to remain the property of the Britifli fubject, and, if ufed hj tlie ilate, "v^'ere to be repaid, unlefs an improper condud: ivi Great-Britain fhould render a detention of it rea- fonable. Depreciation had at that time, though unacknowledged and unperceived by the whigs, begun in fome fmall degree. Great fums of mon- ey were paid in by debtors. At a later period, the alTembly, adhering to the political principles which forbid an alien to hold lands in the ft ate,, ordered all Britifh property to be fold : and^ be- come fenfible of the real progrefs of depreciation, and of the lofTes which would thence occur, if not guarded againft, they ordered that the proceeds of the fales fhould be converted into their then wofth in tobacco, fubje(n: to the future dire(5lion of th6 legiilature. This adt has left the queftion of re- tribution more problematical. In May, i ySo, an- other ?iCi took away the permiflion to pay into tlie public treafury debts due to Britifh fubjeds.
I iiiMiniimr— •■ir-|irT iiiifi iwi ■awiBaiBum n « t tiiim' imiw
QUERY XYIL
THE different religions received into that ftate ? • The firfl fettlers in this country were emigrants from England, of the EngliOi cliurch, juft at a point of time when it was fJuihed with complete '^i^lory over the religious of -ail other perlaafioiis.
2i6 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
PoiTefTed, as they became, of the powers of mak- ing, adminiftering, and executing the laws, they fkewed equal intolerance in this country with their Prefbyt-^ian brethren, who had emio-rated to the nor- thern government. The poor Quakers were flying from perfecution in England. They caft their eyel on thefe new countries as afylums of civil and reli- gious freedom ; but they found them free only for the reigning fec^ Several ads of the Virginia af- f^mbly of 1659, 1662 and 1693, had made it pen- al in parents to refufe to have their children bap- tized ; had prohibited the unlawful afTembling of <2uakers : had made it penal for any mafter of a velTel to bring a Quaker into the ftate : had order- ed thofe already here, and fuch as ftiould come thereafter, to be imprifoned till they fhould abjure the country ; provided a milder punifhment for their firft and fecond return, but death for their third; had inhibited all perfons from fuiferino- their meetings in or near their houfes, entertaining them individually, or difpofmg of books which fupported^ their tenets. If no execution took place here, as did in New-England, it was not owing to the moderation of the church, or fpirit of the le- giflature, as may be inferred from the law itfelf ; but to hiftorical circumftances which have not been handed down to us. The Anglicans retained full poiTeflTion of the country about a century. Other opinions began then to creep in, and the great care of the government to fupport their own church, having begotten an equal degree of indolence in Its clergy, two-thirds of the people had become dif^ fenters at the commencement of the prefent revo- lution. The laws indeed were ftill oppreffive on iiiem, but the fpirit of die one party had fubfide^
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 217
into moderation, and of the other had rlfen to a degree of determination which command refpedl. The prefent ftate of our laws on the fubjeft of religion is this. The convention of May 1776,111 their declaration of rights, declared it to be a truth, and a natural right, that the exercife of re- ligion fhould be free ; but when they proceeded to form on that declaration the ordinance of govern- ment, inflead of taking up every principle declar- ed in the bill of rights, and guarding it by legifla- tive fanclion, tliey pafied over that which afferted our religious rights, leaving them as they found them. The fame convention, however, when they met as a member of the general affembly in 0(51o- ber, 1776, repealed all a8 of parliament which had rendered criminal the maintaining any opinions in matters of religion, the forbearing to repair to church, and the exercifmg any mode of worfhip ; and fufpended the laws giving falaries to the cler- gy, which fufpenfion was made perpetual in Odo^ ber 1779. Statutory oppreffions being thus wiped away, we remain at prefent under thofe only im- pofed by the common law, or by our own ads of affembly. At the common law, herefy was a cap- ital offence, punilhable by burning. Its definition was left to the eccleaflical judges, before whom the convidion was, till the ilatute of the i El, c, I. circumfcribed it, by declaring, that nothing fhould be deemed herefy, but what had been fo determined by authority of the canonical fcriptures, or by one of the four firft general councils, or by fome other council having for the grounds of their declaration the exprcfs and plain words of the fcrip- tures. Herefy, thus circumfcribed, being .an ofL. fence at the common law, our a^ oi aiTembly of Da
2iS NOTES ON VIRGINIA,
Otftober, 1777, c. 17. gives cogistfance of it to the? general court, by declaring, that the jurifdidlion- of that court fhall be general in all matters at the^ common law. The execution is by the writ Ds: hxret'ico ciimhurcndo. By our own a<5t of aflembly of 1705, c. 30. if a perfon brought up in the Chril^ tian religion denies the being of a God, or the Tri- nity, or averts there are more gods than one, or denies the chriilian religion to be true, or the fcrip- tures to be of divine authority, he is punifliable on tlie hrll offence by incapacity to hold any office or employment ecclefiaftilal, civil, or military ; on the fecond by difability to iiie, to take any gift or legacy, to be guardian, executot, or adrriiniftrator, and by three years imprifonment without bail. A father's right to the cuftody of his own children being founded in law on the right of guardianfhip, this being taken away, tliey may of courfe be fev- ered from him, and put by the authority of the court, into more orthodox hands. This is a fum- mary view of that religious flavery, under which a people have been willing to remain, "who have lavilaed their lives and fortunes" for the eflabliih- ment of their civil freedom. *The error feems not fufficiently eradicated, that the operations of the mind, as well as the ads of the body, are fub- jecl to the coercion of the laws. But our rulers can have no authority over fuch natural rights only as we have fubmitted to them. The rights of confcience we never fubmitted, we could no£ fubmit. We are anfwerable for them to our God. The legitimate pov/ers of government extend to \ fueb a(5ts only as are injurious to others. But it ^ does me no injury for my neighbor to fay there
* p.
urneaux
paftm>
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 219
are twenty Gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. If it be faid, his tefti- mony in a court of jullice cannot be rehed on, reje<5t it then, and be the ftigma on him. Con- ftraint may make him worfe by making him a hy- pocrite, but it will never make him a truer man. It may fix him obftinately in his errors, but wlU not cure them. Reafon and free inquiry are the •only effeflual agents againft error. Give a loofe .to them, they will fupport the true religion, by bringing every falfe one of their tribunal^ to the •teft of their inveftigation. They are the natural cnemis of error, and of error only. Had not the Roman government permitted free inquiry, Chrif- :tianity could never have been introduced. — Had not free inquiery been indulged at the asra of the reformation, the corruptions of Chriftianity could not have been purged away. If it be reftrained now, the prefent corruptions will be protected and new ones encouraged. Was the covernment to prefcribe to us our medicine and diet, our bodies would be in fuch keeping as our fouls are now. Thus in France the emetic was once forbidden as .a medicine, and the potatoe as an article of food. Government is juft as infallible to« when it fixes fyftems in phyfics. Gallileo was fent to the inqu= fition for afhrming that the earth w^as a fphere ;; the government had declared it to be as flat as a trencher, and Galileo was obliged to abjure his er- ror. This error however at length prevailed, the earth become a globe, and Defcrates declared it was whirled round. its axis by a vortex. The gov- ernment in which he lived was wife enough to fee ithat this was no queftion of civil jurifdiclion, or we ihould s.]l have been dayolved hj authority iji .yo^-
220 . NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
tlces. In fa<51:, the vortices have been explored, and the Newtonian principle of gravitation is now more firmly eftabliflied, on the bafis of reafon, than it would be were the government to ftep in, and make it an article of neccflary faith. Reafon and experiment have been indulged, and error has fled before them. It is error alone which needs the fupport of government. Truth can ftand by kfelf. Subje<5l opinion to -coercion : whom will you make your inquifitors ? Fallible men ; men governed by - bad paffions, by private as well as public reafons. And why fubjedl: it to coercion ? To produce uniformity. But is uniformity of o- pinion defu-able i* No more than of face and ftat- ure. Introduce the bed of Procruftes then, and as there is danger that the great men may beat the fmall, make us all of a iize, by lopping the former and ilretching the latter. Diiference of opinion is ad- vantageous in religion. The feveral feels perform the ofEce of a cenfor morum over each other. Is uni- formity attainable? Millions of innocent men, wom- en, and children,fuicetheintrodu<51:ionof Chriilianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprifoned ; yet we have not advanced one inch tovrard uniformi- ty. What has been the effedl of coercion ? to make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To fupport roguery and error all over the earth. Let us refie6t that it is inhabited by a thoufand millions of people. That thefe profefs probably a thoufand different fyftems of religion. That ours is but one of that thoufand. That if there be but one right, and ours that one, Vv'e {hould "mill to fee the 999 wandering fed:s 'gathered into the fold of truth. But againiifuch -,. Luajority W5 caauot effe^Tc diis by force. Kq^*
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 22 r
ion and perfuafion are the only pra(5llcable inftrii- ments. To make way for thefe, free inquiry muft be indulged ; how can we wifh others to indulge it v/hile we refufe it ourfelves. But eveiy ftate, fays an inquifitor, has eftabliihed fome religion. No two, fay I, have ellablilhed the fame. Is this a proof of the infallibility of eftablifhments ? Our filler flates of Pennfylvanla and New- York, how- ever, have long fubfifted v/ithout any eftablilhment at all. The experiment was new and doubtful when they made it. It has anfwered beyond con- ception. They flourifh infinitely. Religion is well fupported ; of various kinds, indeed, but all good enough ; all fufficient to preferve peace and order : or if a fed: arifes, whofe tenets would fub- vert morals, good fenfe has fair play, and reafons and laughs it out of doors, without fufFering the ftate to be troubled with it. They do not hang more malefadors than we do. They are not more diflurbed with religious diffenfions than we are. On the contrary, their harmony is unparralieled, and can be afcribed to nothing but their unbound- ed tolerance, becaufe there is no other circum- ftance in which they differ from every nation on earth. They have made the happy difcovery, that the way to filence rfeligious difputes, is to take no notice of them. Let us too give this experi- ment fair play, and get rid, while v/e may, of thofe tyrannical laws. It is true, we are as yet fecured againft them by the fpirit of the times. I doubt whether the people of this country would fuffer an execution for herefy, or a three years im- prifomnent for not comprehending the myftcries of the Trinity. But is the fpirit of the people an infalliable, a peruiafteut reliaiKe ? Is it govern-
222 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
ment ? Is this the kind of protedion we receive in return for the rights we give up ? Befides, the fpirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rul- ers will become corrupt, our people carelefs. A fmgle zealot may commerce perfecutor, and bet- ter men be his vidims. It can never be too often repeated, that the time for fixing every efTential right on a legal bafis is while our rulers are honeft, and ourfelves united. From the conclufion of this war we fhall be going down hill. It will not then be neceifary to refort every mement to the people for fupport. They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights difregarded. They will forget themfelves, but in the fole faculty of making mon- ey, and will never think of uniting to efFed a due refpecl for their rights. The fliackles, therefore, which fhali not be nocked off at the conclufion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier, till our rights fhall revive or jexpire m a convulfieu.
QUERY XVIIL
THE particular cuftcms and manners that may happen lo be received in that ftate ? . It is difficult to determine on the flandard by which the manners of a nation may be tried, whether catholic, gv particular. It is more difficult ibr a native to bring to that ilandai-d the manners ^f his own nation, familiarized to him by habit. 'There mull doubtlefi be an ualiappv infiuence cm
NOTES ON VIRGIISrA. 32$
the manners of our people produced by the exift encc of flavery among us. The whole commerce between mailer and flave is a perpetual exercife of the moil boifterous paffions, the moft unremitting^ idefpotifm on the one part, and degrading fubmif- fions on tlie otlier. Our children fee this, and learn to imitate it ; for man is an imitative animaL This quality is the germ of all education in him. From his cradle to his grave he is learning to do what he fees others do. If a parent could find no motive either in his philanthropy ©r his felf-love» for reftraining the intemperance of paffion towards his ftave, it Ihould always be a fufficient one that his child is prefent. But generally it is not fuffi- cient. The parent ftorm.s, the child looks on^ catches the lineam.ents of wrath, puts on the fame airs in the circle of fmaller flaves, gives a loofe to his word paflions, and thus nurfed, educated, and daily exercifed in tyranny, cannot but be damped by it with odious peculiarities. The man mud be a prodigy who can retain his manners and morals- undepraved by fuch circumftances. And with, what execution Ihould the ftatefman be loaded, who permitting one half the citizens thus to tram- ple on the rights of other, transforms thofe mto defpots, and thefe into enemies, deflroyeds the- morals of the one part, and the amor patriae 01 the other. For if a flave can have a country in this world, it muft be any other in prefer-^ ence to that In which he is born to live and la- bor for another t in which he mull look up the faculties of hrs nature, contribute as far as depends on his individual endeavors to the evanifhment of the human race,, or entail his own miferable condi- tion on the endlefs generations proceeding from.
S24 NOTES ON VIRGINIA
jiim. With the morals of the people, their indul^ try alfo is deftroyed. For in a warm ch'mate, no man will labor for himfelf who can make another labor for him. This is fo true, that of the pro- prietors of flaves a very fmall proportion indeed are ever feen to labor. And can tlie liberties of a nation be thought fecure when we have removed their only firm bafis, a conviflion in the minds of the people that thefe liberties are of the gift of God ? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath ? Indeed I tremble for my country when I refledl tliat God is juft ; that his juftice cannot fieep for ever : that confidering numbers, nature -and natural means only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of fituation is among pof- fible events : that it may become probable by fu- pernatural interference ! The Almighry has no attribute which can take fide with us in fuch a conteft. — But it is impollible to be temperate and to purfue this fubjedl tlirough the various confid- erations of policy, of morals, of hiftory natural and civil. We muft be contented to hope they will force their way into every one^s mind. I think a change already preceptible, fmce the origin of the prefent revolution. The fpirit of the mafter is abating, that of the flave is rifmg from the duft, his condition mollifying, the way I hope preparing, under the aufpices of heaven, for a total emanci- pation, and that this is difpofed, in the order of *rvents, to be with the confent of the mailers, ra- ther than hj their extirpation.
QUERY XIX.
••<>•<••<*>•■>■•►••
THE prefent ftate of manufadlures, com- merce, interior and exterior trade ? We never had an Interior trade of any import- ance. Our exterior commerce has fiiffered very much from the beginning of the prefent coteft. During this time we have manufactured withim our famihes the mod neceflary articles of cloath- ing. Thofe of cotton will bear fome comparifon with the fame kinds of manufacture in Europe ; but thofc of wool, flax, and hemp are very coarfe., unfightly, and unpleafant : and fuch is our attach- ment to agriculture, and fuch our preference for foreign manufa<5tures, that be it wife or unwlfe» our people will certainly return as foon as they can, to the raifnig raw materials, and exchanging them for finer manufidures than they are able to execute themfelves.
The political ceconomifts of Europe have eftab* lifhed it as a principle that every ftate Ihonld en- deavor to manufacture for itfelf : and this princi- ple, like many others, we transfer to America, without calculating the difference of circumftance which lliould often produce a difference of refult. In Europe the lands are either cultivated, or lock- ed up agalnft the cultivator. Manufacture muft therefore be reforted to of necefHty not of choice, to fupport the furplus of their people. But we have an immenfity of land courting the induftvy «f t'he hufbandman. Is it beft tliea tliat all our E £
^^6 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
citizens fhould be employed in its improvement, or that one half Ihould be called ofF ii om that ta exercife inanufa(ftures and handicraft arts for the other ? Thofe who labor in the earth are the chof- en people of God, if ever he had a chofen people, "W'hofe breaRs he has made his peculiar depone for fubftantial and genuine virtue. It is the focus in Vv-hich he keeps alive that facred fire, which other- wife m.ight efcape from the face of the earth. — Corruption of morals in the.mafs of cultivators is a phjcnomenon of '.vhich no ao:e nor nation has fur- niihed an example. It is the mark fet en thofe, \vho not looking up to heaven, to their ovn foil and induftry, as does the hufbandman, for their fubfiftance, depend for it on the cafualties and ca- price of cuftomers. Dependence begets fubfervi- ence and venality, fuiFocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the defigns of ambition. This, the natural progrefs and confequence of the arts, has fometim.es perhaps been retarded by acci- dental circumP,:ances : but, generally fpeaking, the proportion which the aggregate of the other claf- fes of citizens bears in any flate to that of its hiif- bandmen, is the proportion of its unfound to its healthy parts, and is a good enough barometer whereby to meafare its degree of corruption. XVhile we have land to labor then, let us never wiih to fee our citizens occupied at a -vork-bench, or tv^irling a diftafr. Carpenters, miafons, fm^iths, are wanting in huibandry : but for the general op- eration of manufacture, let our work-fliops ren^ain in Europe It is better to carrv^ provlficns and materials to workmen there, than bring them to the provlfions and materials, and with them their man- ners and principles. The lofe by the tranfporta-
NOTES ON Vi.-JINIA. 22^
tlon of commodities acrofs the Atlantic will be made up in happinefs and permanence of govern- ,ment. The mobs of great cities add juft as much to the fupport of pure government, as fores do to the ifrength of the human body. It is the man- ners and fpirit of the people which preferve a re- public in vigor. A degeneracy in thefe is a can- ker which foon eats to the heart of its laws and conftitution.
QUERY XX.
NOTICE of the commerce produ6lIons par- ^ _^ ticuiar to the Hate J and of thofe objects which the inhabitants are obliged to get from Eu- rope and from other parts of the world ?
Before the prefent war we exported, communi*' bus annis, according to the bell information I can get, nearly as follows ;
|
^ |
|||||||||
|
*- |
|||||||||
|
r^ |
f<|tn |
"^-^ |
«|ro |
M |rv^ M {^»^ |
».Urt|r-H|^l' |
||||
|
'IS |
O VO |
o |
O vo O |
0 |
o |
o |
VO |
CO CO |
CO^ ^ |
|
O VO |
o |
O vo O |
o |
o |
o |
VO |
CO to |
coVO vo • |
|
|
O vo |
o |
O vo O |
o |
o |
o |
vo |
CO CO |
covo vo |
|
|
r^ |
0 VD |
o |
d V© d |
rT |
d |
CO vo |
ro to |
«^ »\ •^ CO w •-• |
|
|
lr^^O |
o |
O vo Ti- |
^ |
Ti- |
|||||
|
■1 |
VO VO |
N |
►H |
||||||
|
52 |
'i^ |
;^ |
i^ |
'13 ;-t |
|||||
|
• . — ( |
-1 |
^ ^ |
^ |
1- |
1 1 |
||||
|
o , -a |
C -a -Q |
||||||||
|
a, |
'6 |
a. 13 |
t5 |
||||||
|
o "^ |
nd |
h|c'. |
v,H |
o |
XI .^. |
1 |
|||
|
'u |
cr^v^c |
m!c^ |
1-1 |
h |
>-l |
m|c^ CO |
|||
|
Ph |
■y *-• |
4-1 |
4-> |
■M |
J-> |
J-J 4J |
1 |
||
|
■ . |
rt Pi |
a |
rt |
rt__ |
rt |
jJ j:j |
1 |
||
|
■ |
O |
J3 r— < o o |
|||||||
|
- |
o |
vo |
|||||||
|
. |
►-I |
</> |
u^ |
||||||
|
K^ |
4? V5 |
rn |
o |
c« |
CO r/l |
||||
|
■»--» |
o •— < |
F— I |
|||||||
|
4.J |
x u |
D |
QJ |
m |
"^ |
"^ a> |
|||
|
J^ |
-S== |
eg |
1-1 |
' to |
t: |
c£ t: |
|||
|
Ti |
:§•§ |
2 |
rt |
(-{ |
rt |
;i rt |
|||
|
c/ |
^ |
^ |
r^ |
^ |
^ r^ |
||||
|
O 0 |
O |
o |
o |
O |
1 |
o o |
t |
||
|
o o |
o |
o |
CO |
O |
1 |
o o |
1 |
||
|
o o |
o |
o |
t-t |
o |
o o |
||||
|
as »\ |
#\ |
•\ |
«^ M |
||||||
|
«^ 0 |
o |
o |
TT |
tr^i >-• |
|||||
|
w> o |
o |
CO |
|||||||
|
CO |
vo |
||||||||
|
. |
1 |
t |
1 |
5^ |
|||||
|
1 ^ |
O , |
, |
t |
1 |
1 r-' 1 |
||||
|
' |
i |
1 |
1 |
> |
|||||
|
' |
t |
LD |
-2^ |
<J^ |
|||||
|
» |
(J I— < |
i |
1 |
&0 w ' |
|||||
|
G 1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
C^ |
|||||
|
1 . ; 4 |
t |
W o |
1 |
||||||
|
f-> : |
t |
cj o a o *^ |
• |
o 4-J |
1 |
t |
|||
|
t i |
1 |
|2 |
1 |
4^ o |
O 1 |
1 1 • |
flj c^ '5 2 • |
||
|
6 |
c |
1 |
"rt O u |
1 W5 U~> |
|||||
|
1 ! |
r-' K* |
-5 |
cc <^ H |
o |
rt |
i!i rt OJ |
5^01 |
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 22$
In the year 1758 we exported feventy tHoufand' hoglheads of tobacco, which was the greateft quantity ever produced in this country in one year. But its culture was faft declining at the comence- ment of this war and that of wheat taken its place -. and it mull: continue to decline on the return of peace. I fufpedt that the change in the tempera- ture of our climate has become fenfible to that plant, which, to be good requires an extraordinary degree of heat. But it requires ftill more indif- penfibly an uncommon fertility of foil : and the price which it commands at market will not ena- ble the planter to produce this by manure. Was the fupply ftill to depend on Virginia and Mary- land idone, as its culture becomes more difficult, the price would rife, fo as to enable the planter to furmount thofe difficulties and to live. But the weftern country on the Miffifippi, and the midlands of Georgia, having frelli and fertile lands in abun- dance, and a hotter fun, will be able to undei-fell thefe two ftates, and will oblige them to abandon the raifnig tobacco altogether. And a happy ob- ligation for them it will be. It is a culture pro- ductive of infinite wreXchednefs. Thofe employ- ed in it are in a continual ftate of exertion beyond the pov^er of nature to fupport. Little food of any kind is raifed by them ; fo that the men and animals on thefe farms are badly fed, and the earth. is rapidly impoverifhed. The cultivation of wheat is the reverfe in every circumftance. Be- fides cloathing the earth with herbage, and prefer- ving its fertility, it feeds the laborers plentifully, requires from them only a moderate toil, except in the feafcn of harveft, raifes great numbers of animals for food and fervice, and diffufes plentj"
?50 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
and happlnefs among the whole. We find it eafi- er to make an hundred bufhels of v^heat than a thoufand weight of tobacco, and they are worth more when made. The weavil indeed is a formi- dable obftacle to the cultivation of this grain v/ith us. But principles are already known which rnuft lead to a remedy. Thus a certain degree of heat, to wit, that of common air in fummer, is necefla- ry to hatch the egg. If fubterranean granaries, or others, therefore, can be contrived below that tem- perature, the evil will be cured by cold. A degree of heat beyond that \^;hich hatchis the Qgg we know will kill it. But in aiming at this we cafily run in- to that which produces putrefaction. To produce putrefaclion^ however, three agents are requifite, heat, moifture, and the external air. If the ab- fence of any one of thefe be fecared, the other two may fafely be admitted. Keat is the one we want. Moifture then, or external air, muCi be excluded. The former has been done by expofing the grain in kilns to the aclion of fire, v/hich produces heat, and extraclis m^oillure at tiie fame time : the latter, by putting the grain into hogfheads covering it v^^ith a coat of lime, and heading it up. In this fitua- tion its bulk produced a heat fufficient to kill the egg ; the moiilure is fuffered to remain indeed, but the external air is excluded. A nicer opera- tion yet has been attempted ; that is, to produce an intermediate temperature of heat between that which kills the cgg^ and that which produces put- refaftion. The threfhing the grain as foon as it is cut, and laying it in its chaif in large heaps, has been found very near to hit this temperature, though not perfe(5tly, nor always. The heap gen- trates heat iufficient to kill moft of the eggs, whlft
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 231
tlie cliafF commonly reftrains it from rifing intOi putrefacllon. But all thefe methods abridge too much the quantity which the farmer can manage, and enable other countries to underfell him which are not infefted with this infe6l. — There is ftill a defideratum then to give with us decilive triumph to this branch of agriculture over that of tobacco. The culture of wheat, by enlarging our pafture, will render the Arabian horfe an article of very confiderable profit. Experience has Ihevv^n that curs is the particular climate of America where he may be railed without degeneracy. Scuthv/ardly the heat of the fun occafions a deficiency of pafture, and northwardly the v;inters are too cold for the ihort and fine hair, the particular fenubility and conftitution of that race. Animals tranfplanted into unfriendly climates, either change their nature and acquire new fences agaiuft the new difficulties hi which they are placed, or they multiply poorly and become extindl. A good foundation is laid for their propagation here by our pofTefTing already great numbers of horfes of that blood, and by a decided tafte and preference for them eftabliflied among tlie people. Their patience of heat with- out injury, their fuperior wind, fit them better in this and the more fouthern climates even for the drudgeries of the plough and waggon. North- wardly they will become an objefl only to perfons of tafie and fortune, for the faddle and lioht car- nages. To thofe, and for thefe ufes, their fleet- nefs and beauty will recommend them. — Befides thefe tiiere will be other valuable fubfiitutes whea the cultivation of tobacco fiiall be difcontinued, fuch as cotton in theeafteni paits cf the ftate, asad *hgmp and-fiax in the wcflena. .
23^ NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
It is not eafy to faj what are the articles either of necefity, comfort, or kixiuy, which we cannot raife, and which we therefore fhall be under a ne- ceffity of importing from abroad, as every thing hardier than the olire, and as hardy as the fig, may be raifed here in the open air. Sugar, coffee and tea, indeed, are not between thefe limits ; and habit ^having placed them among the neceffaries of life with the wealthy part of our citizens, as long as thefe habits remain we mufl: go for them to thofc countries which are able to furnifli them-
QUERY XXL
THE weights, meafures, and the currency of the hard money ? Some details relating to exchange with Europe ?
Our weights and meafures are the fame which are fixed by adls of parliament in England. How it has happened that in this as well as the other A- merican ftates the nominal value of coin, was made to differ from what it was in tlie country we had left, and to dilier among ourfelves too, 1 am not able to fay with certainty. I find that in 1631 our houfe of burgeffees defired of the privy coun- cil m England, a coin debafed to twenty five per cent, that in 1645 ^^^Y forbid dealing by barter for tobacco, and eftabliflied the Spanifh piece of eight at fix fhlliings, as the ftandard of their cur- rency ; that in 1655 ^^ley changed it to five (hil-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 235
lings fterling. In 1 680 they fent an ad^refs to the king, in confequence of which, by proclama- tion in 1683, he fixed the value of French crowns, rix-dollars and pieces of eight at fix fhillings, and the coin of New-England at one fhilling. That in 1710, 1 7 14, 1727, and 1762, other regulations were made, which will be better prefented to the eye ftated in the form of a table as follows :
|
• 4-1 |
|||||
|
. |
^ |
||||
|
-d |
- |
||||
|
r^ |
«J |
||||
|
•3 |
- |
||||
|
i t? |
4-< |
||||
|
^ |
|||||
|
r^- |
•^ |
-Tj |
|||
|
"T'l |
<u |
||||
|
t-- |
CJ |
r-1 |
|||
|
~,-f CO |
|||||
|
< \ 1 |
4^ |
||||
|
t • |
^ |
||||
|
1 |
4-i 4-J |
' vi |
|||
|
4- |
^ ^ |
||||
|
-t:; t3 |
|||||
|
r-- |
0-) flj |
||||
|
^< |
I |
||||
|
:g^ |
Ml-!- |
||||
|
r-i |
IrS UrS U-? |
^O |
|||
|
■i^ |
jj |
||||
|
1 ^ |
t> |
||||
|
6 |
1 -^ |
-d |
|||
|
O |
CJ |
||||
|
1 |
|||||
|
I I |
c-^. |
..^ |
|||
|
1 |
r* |
^ — 1 r-A-n< ^ |
|||
|
1 |
-J |
c!c |
'ri |
I |
|
|
T f |
+-> |
i-rt |
|||
|
• ^ |
jr-^ ^^.^^ |
o |
^ |
'^ |
|
|
u |
c^ |
c* • |
5J |
||
|
r^ |
■ - ^ a, "> '-'^ |
cZ, |
pw4 |
^7~] |
|
|
o |
o O |
's |
|||
|
1 (U 1 |
'u t^ -^ c: o rt c:^ C g g r3 - P^ U w 4^ r •^ iJ ^1=1 |
||||
|
; |
4^ |
rt JJ o 2^ > ^ u: |
v> |
^ s |
u |
|
1 I |
O |
rt -Q TJ :::: ^ .if) ^ |
1 — i |
||
|
t i i V |
2 |
||||
|
'o |
S |
•73 j |
|||
|
*.,. _ |
Op |
OW Ph |
^ |
Si |
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 235-
The firft fymptom of the depreciation cf our prefent paper-money, was that of filver dollars felling at tix-ihillings, which had before been worrh but live fhiilings and nine pence. The afiembly thereupon raifed them by law to fix fhiilings. As the dollar is now likely to become the money-unit of America, as it pailes at this rate in fome of our fifter ilates, and as it facilitates their computation in pounds and Ihillings, & e converfo, this feems to be more convenient than its former denomination. But as this particular coin now ftands higher than any otiier in the proportion of 1337 to 125, or 16 «to 15, it will be neceilary to raiie the others in pro- portion.
#—r«a— ogasya jyii fT»sA*ui-iui.vjic; ■cvijairin.wtna.'js^xi-.jwjfcjir''
QUERY XXII.
HE public income and expences ?
The nominal amount of thefe varying conP.ant- ly and rapidly, witli the conftant and rapid depre- ciation of our- paper-money, it becomes im^pradca- ble to fay what they are. We find ourfelves cheated in every effay by the depreciation interve- ning between the declaration of the tax and its ac- tual receipt. It Vv'ill therefore be more fatisfaflory to confider what our income may be when we fhail find means of colleding what our people may fpare. I fhould not eftimate the whole taxable property of this ftate at an hundred milHons of
236 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
dollars, or thirty millions of pounds our money,. One per cent, on this, compared with any thing we ever yet paid, would be deemed a very heavy tax. Yet I tliink thofe v/ho manage well, and ufe reafonable economy, could pay one and a half per cent, and maintain their houfehold comfortably in the mean time, without aliening any part of their principle, and that the people would fubmit to this willingly for the purpofe of fupporting their prefent conteil. We may fay then, that we could raife, and ought to raife, from one million to one million and a half of dollars annually, that is from three hun- dred to fonr hundred and fifty tlioufand pounds, Virginia money.
Of our expences it is equally difficult to give an exact Hate, and for the fame reafon. They are moftly flated in paper-money, which varying con- tinually, the legillature endeavors at every feiTion, by new corredions, to adapt the nominal fums to the value it is wifhed they would bear. I will ilate them therefore in real coin, at the point at which they en^deavor to keep them.
Dollars, The annua! expences of the general af-
fembly are about - - - 20,000
The governor - - - 3'333t
The council of ftate - - . io,666f Their clerks - - i,i66y
Eleven judges - - - - 11,000
The clerk of the chancery - 666^
The attorney general - - - 1,000 Three auditors and a folicitor - 5j333 f
Their clerks ... 2,000
'The treafurer . , « * 2,000
Jirs clerk'} p » r c ?.,ooQ
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 237
Dollars* The keeper of the public jail - 1,000
The public printer . - - i',666f
Clerks of the inferior courts - - 43)333l Public levy : this is chiefly for the expell- ees of criminal juflice - - 40>ooo County levy, for bridges, court-houfes,
prifons, &c. _ - - - 40,000
Members of congrefs - - - 7,000 Quota of the federal civil lift, fuppofed
one-fixth of about 78,000 dollars 131OOO
Expences of coUedion fix per cent, on
the above _ . - - 12,319
The clergy receive only voluntary contri- butions : fuppofe them on an average one-eighth of a dollar a ty tlie on 200,000 tythes . - - 25,000
Contingencies, to make round numbers
not far from truth - - - 7>52 3x
250,000 Dollars, or 53*571 guineas. This eftimate is ex- clufive of the military expence. That varies with the force actually employed, and in time of peace will probably be little or nothing. It is exclufive alfo of the public debts, which are growing while I am writing, and cannot therefore be noTv fixed. So it is of the maintenance of the poor, which being merely a matter of charity, cannot be deemed ex- pended in the adminiftration of government. And if vv^e ftrike out the 25,000 dollars for the fervices of the clergy, which neither makes part of that ad- miniftration, more than what is paid to phyficians, or lawyers, and being voluntary, is either much or nothing as every one pleafes, it leaves 225,000 dol»
^3^ NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
lars, equal to 48,208 guineas, the real cofl cf the apparatus of governmeat with us. This divided among the a^ual inhabitants of our councry, comes to about two-fifths of a dollar, 2 id. fteriing^ or 42 fols, the price which each pays annually for the protection of the rcfidue of his property, and the other advantages of a free government. ' The public revenue of Great-Britain divided in like manner on its inliabitants would be 16 times great- er. Deducting even the double of the expences of government, as before edimated, from the million and a half of dollars v/hich we before fuppofed might be annually paid without diftrefs, we may conclude that this ftate can contribute one million of dollars annually towards fupporting the federal army, paying the federal debt, building a federal navy, or opening roads, clearing rivers, forming fafe ports, and other ufeful works.
To this ellimate of our abilities, let me add a "word as to the application of them. If when clear- ed of the prefent conteil, and cf the debts with which that will charge us, we come to meafure force hereafter with any European pov/er. Such events are devoutly to be deprecated. Young as we are, and with fuch a country before us to fill with people and with happinefb, we fhould point in that direction the whole generative force of na- ture, wafting none of it in eiforts of mutual de- ftruclion. It fhould be our endeavor to cultivate the peace and friendfliip of every nation, even of that which has injured us moft, when we lliall have carried our point againft her. Our intereft will be to throw open the doors of commerce, and to knock off all its (hackles, giving perfedt freedom to all perfoBs for the vent of whatever tliey may
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 239
chufe to bring into our ports, and afking the fame in theirs. Never was fo much falfe arithmetic em- ployed on any fubjedt, as that which has been em- ployed to peiiuade nations that It Is their interefl to go to war. VTlicre the money which It has cod to gain, at the clofe of a long war, a little town, or a little territory, the right to cut wood here, or catch nfn there, expended in improving what they already poffefs, in making roads, opening rivers, building ports, improving the arts, and finding employment for their idle poor, it would render them much ftronger, much wealthier and happier. This I hope will be our wifdom. And, perhaps, to remove as much as poffible the occafions of making war. It mJght be better for us to abondon the ocean altogether, that being the element where- on we ihall be principally expofed to joftle with other nations ; to leave to others to bring what v/e ihall want, and to caiTy v/hat we can fpare. This •would make us invulnerable to Europe, by olFer- ing none 'of our property to their prize, and would turn all our citizens to the cultivation of tlie eartli; and, I repeat it again, cultivators of the earth are the moft virtuous and independent citizens. It might be time enough to feek employment for them at fea, when the land no longer offers it. But the actual habits of our countrymen attach them to commerce. They will exerciie It for themfelves. Wars then mud fometimes be our lot ; and all the wife can do, will be to avoid that half of them which would be produced by our own follies and our own ad:s of injuftlces : and to make for the other half the befl preparations we cai). Of Vv^hat nature fhould thefe be ? A land army- would be ufelefs for offence, and not the bell nor
240 NOTES 0^ VIRGINIA.
fafefl; inftrument of defence. For either of thefe purpofes, the fea is the field on which we fhould meet an European enemy. On that element it is necelTary we fhould polfefs Tome power. To aim at fuch a navy as th.? greater nations of Europe poflefs, would be a fooliih and wicked vvafte of the energies of our countrymen. It would be to pull on our heads that load of military expence which makes the European laborer go fupperlefs to bed, and moiftens his bed with the fweat of his brows. It will be enough if wc enable ourfelves to pre- vent infults^ from thofe nations of Europe which are weak on the fea, becaufe circumftances exift, which render even the ftronger ones weak as to uSi Providence has placed their richeft and mod de- fencelefs poffeiTions at our door ; has obliged their moft precious commerce to pafs as It were in re- view before us. To protect this, or to aflail, a fmall part only of their naval force will even be rifqued acrofs the Atlantic. The dangers to which the elements expofe them here are too well known, and the greater dangers to which they would be expofed at home were any general calam.ity to in- volve their whole fleet. They can attack us by detachment only ; and It will fuffice to make our- felves equal to what they may detach. Even a fmaller force than they may detach will be render- ed equal or fuperior by the quicknefs with which any check may be repaired with us, while lofFes with them will be irreparable till too late. A fmall naval force then is fufficient for us, and a fmall one h neceflary. What this fhould be, I •will not undertake to fay. I will only fay it fhould by no means be fo great as we are able to make it. ^Suppofe the laillion of dollars, or 300,000 pounds.
NOTES ON VIRGINA. 241
^hlch Virginia could annually fpare without dif^ trefs, to be applied to the creating a navy. A fmgie year's contribution would build, equip, mauj and feiid to fea' a force which fhculd carry 300 guns. The reft of the confederacy, exerting them- i'elves in the fame proportion, would equip in the fame time 1500 guns more. So that one year's contributions would fet up a navy of 1 800 guns. The Britifli lliips of the line average 76 guns ; their frigates 38. 1800 guns then would form a ileet of 30 fnips, 18 of which might be of the line, and 1 2 frigates. Allowing 8 men, tlie Britiih av- erage, for every gun, their annual expence, includ- ing fubfiftence, clothing, pay, and ordinary repairs, would be about 1280 dollars for every gun, or 2,304,000 dollars for the whole. I ftate this only iis one year's poflible exertion, without deciding whether more or lefs than a year's exertion ihould be thus applied.
The value of our lands and flaves, taken con- jundly, doubles in about twenty years. This a- rifes from the multiplication of our flaves, from the extenfion of culture, and increafed demand for lands. The amount of what may be railed will of courfe rife in the fame proportion.
QUERY XXEL
THE hiftories of the ftate, the memorials pub- lifiied in its name in the time of its being a colony, and the pamphlets relating to its interior or exterior affairs preient or ancient I G G
2\z NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Captain Smith, who next to Sir Walter Raleigfc may be conftdered as the founder of our colony, has written its hiflory, from the firft adventures to it till the year 1624. He was a member of the council, and afterwards prefident of the colony ; and to his efforts princip)ally may be afcribed its fupport againft the oppofition of the natives. He %vas honeft, fenfible, and well informed ; but his ftyle is barbarous and uncouth. Hishiftory, how- ever, is almoft the only fource from which we de- rerive our knowledge of the infancy of our ftate.
The reverend William Stith, a native of Vir- $l;-inia, and prefiSent of its college, has alfo written the hiftory of the fame period, in a large odavo volume of fmuli print. He was a man of claflical learning, and very exa(9:, but of no tafte in ftyle. He is inelegant, therefore, and his details often too minute to be tolerable, even to- a native of the country, whofe hiftory he Vv-rites.
Beverly, a native alfo, has run into the other ex- treme ; he has comprifed our hiftory, from the firl^ propofitions of Sir Walter Raleigh to the year 1 700, in the hundredth part of the fpace which Stith employs for the fourth part of the period.
Sir William Keith has taken it up at its earliefi: period, and continued it to the year 1725. He is agreeable enough in ftyle, and paftes over events of little importance. Of courfe he is ftiort, and would be preferred by a foreigner.
During the regal government, fome contcft arofc on the exa<5lion of an illegal fee by governor 13inwiddie-, and doubtlefs there were others on oth- er occafions not at prefent recollefled. It is fup- pnfed, that thefe are not fufticiently intcrefting to a foreigner to merit a detail.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA 245
The petitlen of the council and burgeiTes of Virginia to the king, their memorial to the lords, and remonftrance to the commons in the yean 764, began the prefent conteil ; and thefe having prov- ed ineffedlual to prevent the pafTage of the ftamp- a6t, the refolutions of the houfe of burgeifes of 1765 were palfed, declaring the independence of the people of Virginia on the parliament of Great- Britain, in matters of taxation. From that time till declaration of independence by congrefs in 1776, their journals are filled with aflertions of the pulic rights.
The pamphlets publlfhed in this ftate on the controverted queftion were,
1766, An Inquiery into the rights of the Brltifh
colonies, by Richard Bland. 1769, The Monitor's Letters, by Dr. Arthur
Lee. 1774, * A fummary View of the rights of Brit-
ifh America. 1774, Confideratlons, &c. by Robert Carter
Nicholas. Since the declaration of independence this ftate has had no controverfy with any other, except with that of Pennfyivania, on their common boun- dary. Some papers on this fubjedl paffed between the executive and legiflative bodies of the two ilates, the refult of which was a happy accommo- dation of their rights.
To this account of our hlftorlans, memorials, and pamphlets, it may not be unufeful to add a chronological catalogue of American ftate-papers, as far as I have been able to colleft their titles. It is far from being either complete or corre<5l=.
rJ.,u, ... := . ■ — - ,.
** By the author of thefi notes*
244 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Where the title alone, and not the paper itfe'If, has come under my obfervation, I cannot anfwer for the exaclnefs of tlie date. Sometimes I have not been able to find any date at all, and fometlmes have not been fatisiied that fach a paper exifts. An extenfive collciftion of papers of this defcrip* tion has been for fome time in a coiirfe of prepar- .ation by a gentleman* fully equal to the taik, and from whom, therefore, we may hope ere long to receive it. It the mean time accept this as the re- fult of my labors, and as clofmg the tedious detail %vhich you have fo undefignedly drawn upon yourfelf.
3498, Mar. 5. 11. H. 7. Pro Johanne Caboto et filiis
fuis fupsr terra incognita in-
veftiganda. i2.,Ry. 595.3.
Hakl. 4. 2 . Mem. Am . 409.
3498, Feb. 3. 13. K. 7. Billa f^gnata anno 13. Hen-
ricileptimf. j. Haliluyt's voiages 5. X502, Dec. 19. 18. H.7. .Depotellatibus ad teras inco-
gitas inveftigandum. 13. Rymer. 37. 154©, Ocl. 17. Commiffion ,de Frangois I. a
Jacques Catier pour Peftab- iiifement du Canada. L'Ef- carbot. 397. 2. Mem. Am. 416. z^4B, 2. E. 6. An adt againfl the exa(5lion of
money, or any other thing, by any officer for licenfe to traffique into Ifeland and Newfoundland, made in An. 2. Edwardi fexti. 3. Hakl. 131. * Mr, Hazard,
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 24^:
The letters-patent granted by 1578, June ii. 20. El
her Majeilie to Sir Hum- phrey Gilbert, knight, for
the inhabiting and planting
of our people in America.
3. Hakl. 135. Letters-patent of QiieenEliz- .1583, Ptb, 6.
abeth to Adrian Gilbert
and others, to difcover the
north well pafFage to Chi- na, 3. Hakl. 96. The letters-patent granted by ijg^, Mar. 25. 26. El
the Queen's majeilie toM.
Walter Raleigh, now
knight, for the difcovering
and planting of new lands
and countries, to continue
the fpace of fix years and
no more. 3. Hakl. 243. An alTignment by Sir Walter Mar. 7. 31. El.
Raleigh for continuing the
aftion of inhabiting and
planting his people in Vir- ginia. Hakl. ift. ed. publ.
in 1589, p. 815. Lettres de Lieutenant Gene- 1603, Nov. 8.
ral de PAcadie & pays cir-
convoifms pour le oieur de
Monts. L'Efcarbot. 417. Letters-patent to Sir Thomas 1606, Apr. 10. 4. Jac, z^
Gates, Sir George Somcrs
and others, for two feveral
•colonies to be made in Vir- ginia and other parts of
America. Stith. Append.
No. I.
24<5 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
1607, Mar. 9. 4. Jac. i. An ordinance and conftitution
enlarging the council of the two colonies in Virginia and America, and aug- menting their authority, M.S.
X609, May a;. 7. Jac. i. The fecond charter tothetrea-
furer and company for Vir- ginia, ere6Ving them into a body politick. Stith. Ap. 2.
x6io, Apr. 10. Jac. i. Letters-patent to the E. of
Northampton, granting part of the ifland of New- foundland. I. Harris. 861.
j6ii.Mar. li. Q.Jac.i. A third charter to the treaf-
urer and company for Vir- ginia. Stith. Ap. 3.
1617, Jac. I. A commiffion to Sir Wal-
ter Raleigh. Qu. ?
i6ao, Apr. 7. 18. Jac. I. Commiffio fpeclalis concera-
ens le garbling herbje Noc- otianae. 17. Rym. 190.
i620junea9. iS.Jac. I. A proclamation for reftraint
of the difordered trading of tobacco* 17. Rym. 233.
1620, Nov. 3. Jac. I. A grant of New-England to
the council of Plymouth.
i6ai, Julya4. Jac. i. An ordinance and conftitu-
tlon of the treafurer, coun- cil and company in Eng- lang, for a council of ftate and general aflembly in Virginia. Stith. Ap. 4.
i6ax, Sep. lo.ao.Jac.i. A grant of Nova Scotia to
Sir William Alexander. 2^ Mem. de TAnierique. 19 ^^
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 247
A proclamation prohibiting 1622, Nov.6. ao.Jac.i
interloping and diforderly
trading to New England in
America. 17. Rym. 416. De Commiflione fpeciali Wil- 1623, May. 9. ai. Jac. u
lemo Jones militi direda.
17. Rym. 490. A grant to Sir Edmund Ploy- 1623,
den, of New Albion, Men- tioned in Smith's examina- tion. 82. De Commiffione Henrico 1624, July 15. 22. Jac. 1
vicecomiti Mandevill &
aliis. 17. Rym. 609. De Commiffione fpeciali con- 1624, Aug. 26. 22. Jac. i.
cernenti gubernationem in
Virginia. 17. Rym. 618. A proclamajtion concerning 1624, Sep. 29. 22. Jac. i.
tobacco. 17. Rym. 621. De conceflione demifs, Ed- 1624, Nov, 9. 22. Jac. i.
wardo Ditchfield et aliis.
i7.;Rym._633. A proclamation for the utter 1625, Mar. 2. 22. Jac. i
prohibition of the importa- tion and ufe of tobacco
which is not of the proper
growth of the colony of
Virginia and the Somer
iflands, or one of them.
17. Rym. 668.
De commiffione dirc<5):a Geor- 1625, Mar. 4. i. Car. i. g'lo Yardeley miHti et aliis.
18. Rym. 311.
Proclamation de herba Nico* 1625, Apr. 9. i. Car. i. tiana. i8. Rym. 19.
2^B' NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
1625, May 13. t. Cam. A proclamation for fettling-e
tile plantation of Virgmia. i8'. 'Rym. 27.
2625, July 12. A grant of the foil, baronr,
- and dojTiains of Nova Sco- tia to Sir Wm. Alexander of Minftrie. 2. Mem. Am.
2 2-6.
i6a6, Jan. 31- 2. Ccir. I. Gummiffio dire<fla Jolianni
Welftenholme militi at aliis. 18. Ry. 831.
j626,Feb. 17. 2. Car. r. A proclamalion touching to- bacco. Ry. 848.
i627,Mar.i9qu?2Car.i. A grant of MaiTachufet's bay
By the council of Plym- outh to Sir Henry Rof- well and others.
i627,Mar. a6.3.Car. I. De conceffione com.miffionis
fpecialis pro conciho in Vir- ginia. 18. Ry. ^80.
1627, Mar. 30. J. Car.i. De proclamatione de figna-
tione de tobacco. 18. Ry. 886.
1627, Aug. 9. 3. Car. i. De proclamatione pro ordina-
tione de tobacco. 18. Ry. 920.
1628, Mar. 4. 3. Car, r. A confirmation of the grant
of MafTachufet's bay by the Crown.
1629, Aug. 19. The capitulation of Quebec.
Champlain part, 2. 216. 2. Mem. Am. 489.
1630, Jan. 6. 5. Car. 1 A proclamation concerning
tobacco. 19. Ry. 235. 1 6 JO, April .30. Conveyance of Nova Scotia
{Port-royal excepted) by
NOTES ON VIRGINIA, 349-
Sir William Alexander to ^Sir Claude St. EtiiineLord of la Tour and of Uarre und to his fon Sir Charles de St. Etinne Lord of St. Dennifcourt, on condition that they continue fabjects to the king of Scotland un- der the great feal of Scot- land. A proclamation forbidding 1 630,3 i.Nov.i4,6.Car.£;'^ the diforderly trading with
the fava^-cs in New-Ener-
• • •
land ni America, efpecial-
ly the furnidiing the na- tives in thofe and otlier parts of America by the Englifh with weapons an^ habiliments of waiTe. 19. Ry. 210. 3. Rufhw. 82.
A proclamation prohibiting 1630, Dec. 5. 6. C«r. f,- the felling arms, &c. to the favages in America. Men- tioned 3. llufhw. 75.
A grant of Connecticut by 1630, Car. t.
the council of Plymouth to the E. of Warwick.
A confirmation by the crown 1630, Car. i,-
of the grant of Connedicut [fiid to be in the petty- bag office in England]
A .conveiance of Connecticut 1631, Mar. 19. 6. Car, i-^ by the E. of Warw^ick to Lord Say and Seal and ■©liiers. Smith's examina-
H H
ZS9, NOTES ON VIRGINIA..
tion, appendix No. i. ^ 163 1, June 2y. 7. Car. i. A ipecial commiffion to EJ-
ward Earl of Doriett and others for the better plan- tation of the colony of Vir- ginia. 19. Ry. 301.
1631, June 29 7. Car. i. Littere continentes promiflio-
nem regis ad tardenum caftrum et habitationem de Kebec in Canada ad rc- gem Francorum. 19. Ry.
303- r63Z,Mar. 29.8.Car. I. Traite entre le roy Louis
XIII. et Charles roi d'An-
gleterre pour la reftitutioii
de la nouvelle France, la
Cadie et Canada et des na-
vires et merchandifes pris
de part et d'autre. Fait a
St. Germain. 19. Ry. 361,
2. Mem. Am. 5.
1632, June 20. 8. Car. i. A grant of Maryland to Cse-
cilius Calvert, baron of Baltimore in Ireland.
1633, July 3. 9. Car. I. A petition of the planters of
Virginia againft the grant of Lord Baltimore.
1^:3. Ph 3- Order of council upon the
difpute between the Vir- ginia planters and lord Bal- timore. Votes of repres. of Pennfylvania. V. ^
1633, Aug. 13.9. Car. I. A proclamation to prevent
abufes growing by the un- ordered retailing of tobac- ' CO. Mentioned 3. Rufliw. 1 9L
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 151
jn. fpecial commlffion to Tho- 1633, Sept. 27. 9. Ca 1, . mas Young to fearch, dif-
cover and find out what
parts are not yet inhabited ::
in Virjrinia and America ■ and other parts thereunto
adjoining. 19. Ry. 372. A proclamation for prevent- 1633, OcT:. 13. 9. C»r. i.
ing of the abufes growing ' by the unordered retaihng
of tobacco.
19- %• 474- A proclamation reftraining ^^33, Mar. 13. Car. i.
the abuiive venting of to- bacco. 19. Rym. 522. •A proclamation concerning i634,May 19. lO.Car.i. • the landing of tobacco, and
alfo forbidding the plant-
mg thereof in tiie king's do- minions. 19. Ry. ^^^. A commiiiion to the Arch- 1634, Car.i.
biihop of Canterbury and
1 1 others, for governing
the American colonies. A commiffion concerning to- 1634, June 19. lo.Car.i.
bacco. M. S. ;A commiifion from Lord i635,july 18. 11. Car,i.
Say and Seal, and others, '
to John Winthrop to be
governor of Connedicut. ' .
Smith's app. A grant to Duke Hamilton. 1635, Car. i
De commiffione fpeciah , Jo- 1636, Apr. a, li. Car. x
honni Harvy militi pro me-
iiori regemine coloniae in
Virgiaia. 20. Ry. 3. ,.
25^ NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
1637, Mar. 24. Car. I. A proclamation concerning-
tobacco. Title in 3. Rufh. 617.
}636.7,Mar.i6.i2.Car,i. Decommiillone fpeciallGeor-
gio dimino Goring et aliis conceira concernente ven- ditionem de tobacco abf- que licentia ragia, 20. Ry. 116.
>637, Apr. 3c. i3.Car.i. A proclamation againft difor-
derlv tranrportiing his Ma- jefty's fabjecls to xhe plan- tations within the parts of America. 20, Ry. 143. 3. Ruih. 409.
J1637, May 1. 13. Car. I. An order of the privy coun- cil to ftay 8 lliips now in the Thames from going to> New-England. 3. Rufn^ 409.
1637, Car. I. A wairant of the Lord Ad-
miral to (top unconforma- ble minifters from going beyond fea. 3. Rufh. 410.
16385 Apr. 4. Car. I. Order of council upon Clai- borne's petition againft Lord Baltimore. Votes of reprefentatives of Penn- fylvania. vi.
J 63 S, Apr. 6. 14. Car. I. An order of the king and
council that the attorney- general draw up a procla- mation to prohibit tranf- portation of palfengers ta New^-England without li* Genie. 5. Rulh. 718.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 25^5
£^ proclamation to reftrain 1638, May 1. 14. Car. r.
the tranfporting of paffen-
gersand provifions to New- England without licenfe.
20. Ry. 223. A proclamation concerning 1639, Mar. 25. Car. t.
tobacco. Title 4. Rulh.
1060. A proclamation declaring his 1639, Aug. 19. i5.Car.i*
majeily's plealure to con- tinue his commiihon and
letters-patents for licenfnig
retailers of tobacco. 20.
Ry. 348. De commiffione fpeciali Hen- 1639, Dcc.15. 16. Car-.x*
rico Aihton armigero et
aliis ad amovendum Hen-
ricum Hawley gubernato-
rem de Barbadoes. 20.
Ry. 357. A proclamation concerning 1639, Car. i
retailers of tobacco. 4.
rulh. 966. De conftitutione gubernato- 1641, Aug. 9. 2 7.Car. 2
ries et concilii pro Virgin- ia. 20. Ry. 484. Articles of union and confed- 1645, Car. i,^
eracy entered into by Maf-
fachufetts, Plymouth, Con-
nedicut and New-haven.
I. Neale. 223. Deed from George Fenwick 1644, €ar. ?♦
to the old Connedicut ju-
rifdidion. An ordinance of the lords
and commons alTembled ia
254 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
parliament, for exempting from cuftom and impofi- tion all commodities ex- ' ported for, or imported from New-England, which - has been very profperous and without any public charge to this Itate, and is likely to prove very happy for the propagn.tion of the gofpel in thofe parts. Tit. in Amer. library 90. 5. No date. But feems by the neighboring articles to have been in 1644. 1644, June 20. Car. 2. An adi for charging of tobac- co brought from New- England w^ith cuftom and excife. Title in American libraiy. 99. 8.
, J644, Aug. 1. Car. 2. An a6l for the advancing and
regulating the trade of this commonwealth. Tit. Am. libr. 99. 9, Sept. 18. 1. Car. 2 Grant of the northern neck ©f Virginia to Lord Hop- ton, Lord J ermyn. Lord Culpeper, Sir John Berk- ley, Sir William Moreton, ■ Sir Dudley Wyatt, and Thomas Culpeper.
v'»650, 0*5t. 3. 2. Car. a. An a<5t prohibiting trade with
the Barbadoes, Virginia, Bermudas and Antego. Scobell's a<Ss. 1027.
NOTES CN VIRGINIA. 255
A declaration of Lord Wil- i6jo, Car. »,
loughby, governor of bar- badoes, and of his council, againll an adl of parlia- ment of 3d of 06tober 1650. 4. Polit. regifter. 2. cited from 4. Neal. hift. of the Puritans. App. No. 12 but not there. . . ;
A finalfettlement of bounda- 1650, Car. z»
ries between the Dutch New Netherlands and Connedicut.
Inftruclions for Captain Rob- 1651, Sept. 26. 3. Car. z» ert Dennis, Mr. Richard
, Bennet, Mr. Thomas Stagge, and Captain Wil- liam Claibourne, appoint- ed commiiTioners for the reducing of Virginia and
the inhabitants thereof to • ;
their due obedience to the commonwealth of Eng- land. I. Thurloe's fcate papers. 197.
An ad: for increafe of Ihip- 1651, Ocl. 9. 3. Car. z^,- ping and encouragement of the na\Mgation of this nation. Scobell'sads. 1449.
Articles agreed on and con- i65i-2,Mar.iz4.Car>:Zi eluded at James citie in Virginia for the furrender- ing and fettling of that plantation under the obedi- ence and government . of the commoii wealth of Eng-.
.2s6 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
land by the commiflioners of the council of ftate, by authoritie of the Parlia- ment of England, and by the grand aflembly of ihe governor, council, and burgefles of that Hate M.S. [Ante. p. 206.] i65i-2,Mar.ia.4rear.2. An adt of indempnitie made
at the furrender of the countrey [of Virginia^ [Ante. p. 2c6.]
1654, Aug. i6. Capitulation de Port-Royal.
Mem. Am. 507. z6j5, Car. 2. A proclamation of the pro-
tedlor relating to Jamaica.
3. Thuri. 75. 2655, Sept. 26. 7. Car. 2. The protesStor to the commif-
fi oners of Mai7land. A
letter. 4. Thurl. SS-
1655, oa. 8. 7. Car. 2. An inftrument made at the
council of Jamaica, 0(51. 8, 1655, for. the better carry- ing on of affairs there. 4. Thurl. 17. ^^$55, Nov. 3. Treaty of WeftminRer be-
tween France and Eng- land. 6. corps diplom. part 2. p. 121. 2. Mem. Am. 10.
1656, Mar.27. S. Car.2. The alTembly at Barbadoes
to the proteflor. 4. Thurl. 6ci. t^j6, Avg. ^. A grant by Cromwell to Sir
Charles de Saint Etinne, a baron of Scotland, Crowac
'NOTES ON VIRGINA. 257
and Temple. A French
tranilation of it. 2. Mem.
Am. 511. -A paper concerning the ad- 1656, Car. 2.
vancement of trade. 5.
Thurl. 80. A brief narration of the Eng- 1656, Cans.
lifh right-s to the Northern
parts of America. 5.
Thurl. 8r. 'Mr. R. Bennet and Mr. S. 1656, Oct. lo. 8. Gar. 2.
Matthew to Secretay
Thurlow. 5. Thurl. 482. ' ^ ObjeiSlions againft tha Lord 1656, Od. 10. 8. Car. 2.
Baltimore's patent, and
reafons why the governor
of Maryland fliould not be
put into his hands. 5.
Thurl. 482. ' A paper relating to Mary- 1656, OS:. 10. 8. Car. 2,
land. 5. Thurl. 483. ^ ' A breviet of the proceedings 1656, 06L 10. 8. Car. 2,
of the Lord Baltimore 'and
his officers and compliers
in Maryland, againft the
authority of the parlia- ment of the common- wealth of Eni^land and a-
gainil his highnefs the
lord protei^or's authority,
laws and government. 5.
Thurl. 486. •- The aflembly of Virginia to 1656, Odb. 15. 8. Car.^.
fecretary Thurlow. 5.
Thiirl. 497,
I I
258 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
1657, Apr. 4. 9. Car. a. The governor of Barbadoes
to the proteftor. 6. Thiifl; 169. 1 661, Car. a. Petition of die general court
at Hartford upon Con- nefticut for a charter. Smith's exam. App. 4. 166a, Apr. 23. i4-Car.a. Charter of the colony of Con-
neflicnt. : Smith's exam. App. 6. i66a-3. Mar. 24. Apr,4. The firft charter granted by 15, Car. a. Charles II. to the proprie-
' taries of Carolina, to wit, . to the Earl of Clarendon, Duke of Albemarle, Lord : Craven, Lord Berkley, Lord Afhley, Sir George Carteret,Sir William Berk- ley, and Sir John Colleton. 4. Mem. Am. 554. .
1664, Feb. 10. The conceffions and agree-
ment of the lords proprie- •: tors of the province of New C^farea, or New-Jerfey, to and with all and every of ■ the adventurers and all fuch as fhall fettle or plant there. Smith's New-Jer- • fey. App. I. i664,Map.i2. 20. Car.2. A grant of the colony of New
York to the Duke of York. - X664, Apr. 26.16. Car, 2. A commiffion to Colonel 1^-
chols and others to fettle difputes in New-England. Hutch. Hift. Maff.Bay. ^ App. 537.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 259
The commiffion of Sir Rob- 1664, Apr, a6. bert Carre and others to put the Duke of York in polTeiHon of New- York, New-Jerfey, and all other lands thereunto appertain-
Sir Robert Carre and others proclamation to the inhab- itants of New- York, New- Jerfey, &c. Smith's N. J. 36.
Deeds ot leafe and releafe of i664juBe33,a4.i6.C.^. New-Jerfey by the Duke of York to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret,
A conveyance of the Dela- ware counties to William Penn.
Latters between Stuyvefant r 1664, Aug. 19.29. a©- and Colonel Nichols on the ■< 30, 34. Englifh right. Smith's N. C. Aug. a5.Sept.4.
J- 37-— 42.
Treaty between the Englilli .554^ Aug. 27. and Dutch for the furren- der of the New-Nether- • lands. Sm. N. J. 42.
Nicoll's commiffion to Sir Robert Carre to reduce the Dutch on the Dela- ware bay. Sm. N. J. 47.
Inftrudions to Sir Robert Carre for reducing of De- laware bay and fettling the people there under his ma- jelly's obedience. Sm. N, J..47-
Sept. 3,
26o NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
1664, 0(5t. I. Articles of capitulation ba-
tween Sir Robert Carre and the Dutch and Swedes on Delaware bay and Del- aware River. Sm. N. J. 49.
1664, Dec. 1. 16. Car. s. The determination of the
commiffioners of the boun- dary between the Duke o£ York and Connedicut. Sm. Ex. Ap. 9.
1664, The New Haven cafe.
Smith's Ex. Ap. 20.
1665, Junei 3-24.17.0.2. The fecond charter granted
by Charles II. to tiie fa^mc proprietors of Carolina. 4. Mem. Am. 586. 3666, Jan. a6. Declaration de guerre par la
France contre I'Angleter- re. 3. Mem. Am. 123.
1666, Feb. 9. 17. Car, 2. Declaration of war by the
king of England agalnd the king of France.
1667, J"^y 3^- The treaty of peace between
France and England made «it Breda. 7. Cor. Dip. part I. p. 41. 2. Mem. Am. 32.
1667, July 3i, The treaty of peace and alli-
ance between England and the United Provinces made at Breda. 7. Cor. Dip. p. I. p. 44. 2. Mem. Am. 40.
5667.8, Feb. 17. A6le de la celfion de I'Acadie
au roi de France. 2. Mem. Am. 40.
s6C8, Apr. 21, Dire(ftions from the governor
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 261
and- council of New York
, for a better fettlement of the government on Dela- ware. Sm. N- J, 51.
Lovelace order for cuftoms 1668. at the Hoarkills. Sm. N.
J- 55-
A confirmation of the grant t^ May 8. 31. Car. %,
of the Northern neck of
Virginia to the Earl of St*
Alban's, Lord Berkeley,
Sir William Moreton and
John Trethewayo Incorporation of the town of jg^^.
Newcaftle or Amilell. ,
A demife of the colony gf 16-3, Feb.. aj.^j.Cac-^
Virginia to the Earl of
Arlington and Lord Cul-
peper tor 3 1 yea.rs. M. S. Treaty at London between 1673.4.
king Charles II. and tl\e
Dutch. Article VI.. Remonftrances againft the
two grants of Charles II.
of Northern and Southern
Virginia. Mentd. Beverly.
Sir George Carteret's inftruc- jg^^^ juiy j^.
tions to Governor Carteret. Governor Andros's proclam- 1674^ Nov. 9.
ation on taking pofTefiion
of Newcaftle for the Duke
of York. Sm. N. T. 78. A proclamation for prohibit- 1^75, od. i. ^^7. Car.a^
m'^ the importatioQ of
z^z NOTES ON VIRGINIA* .
commodities of Europe into any of his Majtfty's plantations in Africa, Afia, or America, which were not laden in England : and for putting all other laws relating to the trade of the piantaions in effe<5lu- al execution.
1676, Mat. 3» r. The conceffions and agree-
ment? of the proprietors,* freeholders and inhabitants of the province of Weft- New-Jerfey in America. Sm. N. J. App. 2.
1676, July 1. A deed quintipartite for the
divifion of New-Jerfey.
i676jAug.i8. - Letter from the proprietors
of New-Jerfey to Richard Hartfhorne. Sm. N. J. 83. Proprietors inftru^ors to James Waffe and Richard Hartfhorne. Sm. N. J. 83.
1676, 0<a.io. 28. Car.2. The charter of king Charles
II. to his fubjeds of Vir- ginia. M. S.
1676. Cautionary epiPtle from the
truftees of Byllinge's pare of New-Jerfey. Sm. N.J. 84.
1677, Sept. 10. Indian deed for the lands be-
tween Rankokas creek and Timber creek, in New-Jer- fey. i077>Sept. x;. Indian deed for the lands
from Oldman's creek to
NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Timber creek, in New-Jer-
fey. Indian deed for the lands ,1677, 0<^- 1^*
from Rankokas creek to Af-
funpink creek, in New-
Jerfev. 'The will of Sir George Car-. 1678, Dec. 5.
teret, fole proprietor of Eaft
Jerfey, ordering the fame
to be fold.
2^S
An order of the king in coun-
1680, Feb. 16.
cil for the better encour- agement of all his majefly's fubjefts in their trade to his majefly's plantations, and for the better informa- tion of all his maje{L}^''s loving fubjedls in thefe matters. — Lond. Gaz. No. 1596. Title in American library. 134. 6.
Arguments againft the cuf- i^So, toms demanded in New- Weft-Jerfey by the govei*- nor of New-York, addref- fed to the Duke's commif- fioners, Sm. N. J. 117.
Extrads of proceedings of
the committee of trade and
plantations, copies of let-
• ters, reports, &c. between
the board of trade, Mr.
Penn, Lord Baltimore and
; Sir John Werden, in the
i-oelialf of the duke of. York
/
1680, June 14. 23. 2j. Oa. 16.
N0V.4.8.11.1.8,
20. 23.
Dec. 16.
1680-1, Jan. rj. 22.
Feb.. i4.
264 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
and the fettlament of the . Pcnnfylvania boundaries by the L. C. J. North. Votes of Repr. Pennfyl. vii. — xlii. i68r, Mar. 4. Car. 2. A grant of Pennfvlvania to.
William Penn. Votes of Reprefen. Pennfyl. xviii. 1 68 1, Apr. z« The kmg's declaration to the
inha:)itants and planters of the province of Pcnnfylva- nia. Vo. Repr. Penn. xxiv. 1681, Julyir. ■ Certain conditions or concef-
fions agreed upon by Wil- ' liam Penn, proprietary and governor of Pennfylvania, and thofe who are the ad- venturers and purchafers in the fame province. Votes of Rep. Pennfyl. xxiv.
-' 1681, Nov. 9. Fundamental laws of the
province of Weft-New- Jer- fey. Sm. N. J. 126.
~ i68i-2j Jan. 14. 'The methods of the commif-
fioners for fettling and reg- ulation of land in New- Jerfey. S. M. N.J. 130.
• ii68,i-a, Peb. I. s. Indentures of leafe and re-
leafe by the executors of Sir George Carteret to William Penn and 1 1 oth- ers, conveying Eaft Jerfey.
- 1682, Mar. 14. The Duke of York's freih
grant of Eaft New-Je^fey 4--^ to the. 24 proprietors.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA ^ 26^
The frame cf the govern- 1682, Apr. 25.
ment of the province of
Pennfylvania, in America.
Votes of Repr, Penn. xxvli. The Duke of York's deed for 1682, Aug. il
Pennfylvania. Vo. P^epr.
Penn. xxxv. The Duke of York's deed of 1682, Aug, z^.
feoffment of Newcaftle and
twelve miles circle to Wil- liam Penn. Vo. Repr.
Penn. The Duke of York's deed of 1684, Aug. 24-
feoffment of a trad of land
1 2 miles fouth from New-
caftlc to the Whorekills to
William Penn. Vo. Repr.
Penn. xxxvii. A commiflion to Thomas i68s, Nov. 27.34.03^.2.
Lord Culpeper to be lieu- tenant and governor-gene- ral of Virginia. M. S. An adl of union for annexing i68a,ioth nion.6th daf,
and uniting of the counties
of Newcaftle, Jones's and
Whorekill's alias Deal, to
the province of Pennfylva- nia, and of naturalization
of all foreigners in the pro-
■vince and counties afore-
faid. An aft of fettlement. 1682, Dec. L
The frame of the govern- i68;5, Apr. 5^
ment of the province of
Pennfylvania and tenfto-
K.K
266 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
ries thereunto annexed in America.
i683.y.i7.-7.i684,Fcb.iz.i6.85,Mar.i 7.") Proceedings
May 30. Jivy 2,16,23. AiiiT.i8.a6. / r^i ^
June I z. Sept. 30. Sep^. 2. I. O. ciiecolTi-
Dec. 9. oa.8,17,31 I mittee cf
Nov. 7. J trade and
plantations in the difpute
between Lord E;iltImorq
and Mr. Pcnn. Vo. R.^p.
xiii — xvili.
1683, July 17. A commiffion of the propri-
etors of Eaft-New-Jerfey to Robert Barclay to be gov- ernor. Sm. N. J. 166.
1683, July 26,35. Car.2. An order cf council for ifTu-
ing a quo warranto agrJnfb the charter of the colony of the MaiTachufet's bay m New-England ; with his majefty's declaration that in cafe the faid corporation of Maffachufet's bay fhall before profecution had up- on the fame quo warranto make a full fubmiffion and entire refignation to his royal pleafure, he will then reeulate their charter in fuch a manner as fhall be for his fervice and the good of that colony. Title in American library. 139. 6.
i683,ScpL23.35.Car.a. A commiffion to LordHcv/-
ard of Effingham to be lieutenant and governor- general of Virginia. M. S.
■ NOTES ON VIRGINIA, 26;
The humble addrefs of the i6£4, May. 3. chief governor, council and reprefentatives of the ifland of Neris, in the Weil-In- dies, prefented to his ma- jefty by Colonel Nethway and captain Jefferfon, at Windfor, May, 3. 1684. Title in Amer. libr. 142. 3. cites Lond. Gaz. No.
1927-
A treaty with the Indians at 1684, Aug. 2.
Albany. A treaty of neutrahty for 1686, Nov. i6»
America between France
and England. 7. Corps Dipl. part 2. p. 44. 2. Mem.
Am. 40. By the king, a proclamation 1687, Jan. 20,
for the more effectual re- ducing and fuppreffing of
pirates and privateers in
America, as well on the
fea as on the land in great
numbers committing fre- quent robberies and pira-r
cies, which hath occafion-
ed a great prejudice and
obiiruftion to trade and '
commerce, and given a
great fcandal and diftur-
bance to our government
in thofe parts. Title Am.
libr. 147. 2. cites Lond-
Gaz. No. 2315,
208 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
16S7, Feb. 1%. Conftitution of the council of
proprietors of Weft Jerfey. Smith's N. Jerfey. 199.
i687,qu.Sept.5r7.4jac.a. A conformation of the grant
of the nsrthern neck of Virginia to Lord Culpeper.
1687, Sept. 5. Governor Coxe's declaration.
to the council of proprietors of W. Jerfey. Sm. N. J. 1 9.0.
1687, Dec. i6w Provifional treaty of White-
hall concerning America between France and Eng- land. 2. Mem. de ?Am. 89.
5687. Governor Coxe's narrative
relating to the divifion line, dire(5led to the coun- cil of proprietors of Weft- Jerfey. Sm. App. No. 4.
j^g.^. The reprefentation of the
council of proprietors of Weft-Jerfey to governor Buniet. Smith. App. N0.5. The remonftrance and peti- tion of the inhabitants of Eaft-New-Jerfey to the king. Sm. App. No. 8. The memorial of the propri- etors of Eaft-New-Jerfey to the Lords of trade. Sm. App. No. 9. i68c, Hspr. S' Agreement of the line of
partition between Eaft and Weft-New-Jerfey. Sm. N.
J. 196. s^ff, Conveyance ot the goveni-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 269
ment of Weft-Jerfey and
territories by Dr. Coxej to
the Weft-Jerfey fociety. A charter Granted by king 1691, Ofl. 7«
William and Queen Mary
to the inhabitants of the
province of Maifachufet's
bay in New-England. 2.
Mem. de PAm, 593. The frame of government of 169.6. Nov. 7.
the Province of Pennfylva-
nla and the territories
thereunto belonging jpafTcd
by governor Markham.
Nov. 7, 1696. The treaty of peace between 1697, Sept. ae.
France and England, made
at Ryfwick. 7. CorpsDipl.
part. 2. p. 339. 2. Mem.
Am. 89. The opinion and anfwer of 1699, July 5.
the Lords of trade to the
memorial of the proprie- tors of Eaft-New-Jerfey.
Sm. App. No. 10. The memorials of the pro- prietors of Eaft-New-Jer- 1700, Jan. 15^
fey to the Lords of trade.
Sm. App. No. 1 1 . The petition of the proprie- tors of Eaft and Weft-
New-Jerfey to the Lords
juftices of England. SftJ. App. No. 12.
2 70 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
J7©o. W. 3. A ccnfirmatlon of the boun-
dary between the colonies of New- York and Connect- icut, by the crown.
1 701, Aug. li. The memoria-i of the propri-
etors of Eaft and Weft- Jerfey to the king. Sm. App. No. 14.
i7oi,Ocl:. a. Reprepefentation of the
Lords of trade to the Lords Juflices. Sm. App. No. 13.
lyci- A treaty with the Indians.
1701-2, Jan. 6. Report of Lords of trade to
king Wilham of draughts of a commiffion and in- ftruclions for a governor of New-Jei-fey. Sm. N. J. 262.
I702-, Apr. 15. Surrender from the proprie-
tors of E. and W. N. Jer- fey of their pretended right of government to her ma- jefty Q^Anne. Sm. N. J. 211.
1702, Apr. 17. The Queen's acceptance of
the furrender of govern- ment of Eaft and Weft- Jerfey. Sm. N. J. 219.
1702, Nov. 16. InCtruvflions to Lord Combu-
ry. Sm. N. J. 230.
1702, Dec. 5. A commiirion from Queen
Anne to Lord Cornbury, to be captain-general and ' governor in chief of New-
Jerfey. Sm. N. J. 220.
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 271
Recognition hr the council 1703, June 37. of propria LCi 3 of. the crue bo'jndary of tlie deed^ of ScDi. ic. md 061. 10, 1677. (NeW'jerfey.) Sm.
^ N. J. 96.
Indian deed for the lands a- ^703^ bove the fails 01 the Dela- ware in Weft-Jerfey.
Indian deed for the lands at the head of Rankokus Riv- er in Weft-Jerfey.
A proclamation bv Queen 17^4* June i J. Anne for fettling and af- ccrtaining the current rates of foreign coins in Ameri- ca. Sm. N. J. 281.
Additional inPcru6lions to 1705, May 3. Lord Cornbury. Sm. N.
J- 235- Additional InftrUiflions to 1707, AIay3.
Lord Cornbury. Sm. N.
J. 258. Additional infl;ru<5lions to 1707, Nov. za
Lord Cornbury. Sm. N. J.
259. An anfwer by the council of 1707.
proprietors for the weftern
divifion of New-Jerfey, to
queftions, propofed to them
by Lord Cornbury. Sm.
N. J. 285. Infl:ru6tions to colonel Vetch 1708-9, Feb. aS.
in his negcclations with the
2)2 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
governors of America. Snt.
N. J. 364. 1708-9, Feb. 28. Inftrudlions to the governor
of New-Jerfey and New- York. Sm. J. 361.
1710, Ang. Earl of Dartmouth's letter
to governor Hunter.
1711, Apr. sz. Premieres propofitions cle la
France. 6. Lamberty, 6.69. 2. Mem. Ami. 341. 1711,0a:. 8. Reponfes de la France aux
demandes preliminaries de la Grande-Bretagne. 6. Lamb. 681.2. Mem. Am.
344- ,. . . -
Sept. 27. Demandes prehmmanes plus
^^^^ — ^ particulieres de la Grande-
' Bretagne, avec le reponfes.
2. Mem. del' Am. 346. Sept. 27. L'acceptation de la part de
1 71 1, 1-i Grande-Bretagne. 2.
^'^- ^' Mem. Am. 356.
1711, Dec. a3. The Queen's inftructions to
the Bilhop of Briftol and Earl of Stafford, her ple- nipotentiaries, to treat of a general peace. 6. Lam- bertT* 744' 2. Mem. Am..
358- May zjL. A memorial of Mr. St. John
1712, to the Marquis de Torci,
J^"^ ^-' with regard to North A-
merica, to commerce, and
to the fufnOnfion of arrss.
NOTES ON VIRGINA. 273
7. Recull de Lamberty 161, 2. Mem. de TAmer.
376. Reponfe du rol de France au 1712, June 10.
memoire de Londres, 7.
Lamberty, p. 163. 2. Mem.
Am. 380. Traite pour une fufpenfion 1712. Aug. ij,
d' armes entre Louis XIV.
roi de France, & Anne,
reigne de la Grande-Bre-
tagne, fait a Paris. 8.
Corps Diplom. part 1. p.
308. 2. Mem. d'Am. 104. -Offers of France to England, 171 *> Sept. iz,
demands of England, and
the anfwers of France. 7.
Rec. de Lamb. 491, 2.
Mem. Am. 390. Traite de paix & d'amitie Mar. 31.
entre Louis XIV. roi de '^T^^^ TT
France, & Anne, reine de ^^"^ ^^°
la Grande-Bretagne, fait a
Utrecht. 15. Corps Diplo- matique de Dumont, 339.
id. Latin. 2 ades & mem-
oires de la pais d' Utrecht.
457. id. Lat. Fr. 2 Mem.
Am. 113. Traite de navigation Sc de Mar. 31*
commerce entre Louis ^7i3>
XIV. roi de France, 3c Apni 11.
Anne, reine de la Grande-
I^ L
274 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Bretag-ne. Fait a Utrecht. 8. Corps. Dipl. p^^.r:. r. p. 345. 2. Mem. de TAm.
^37- 1726. A treaty widi Indians.
i7Zi,Jan. The petition of the repre-
fentativcs of the province of New-Jerfey, to have a diftinct governor. Sm. N. J. 421.
-1713, G. 2. Deed of releafe iby the gov-
ernment of Connedlcut to that of Nev'-York.
.I732jjunc9-20.5.G. 2. The charter Granted br
George IT. for Georgia. 4. Mem. de I'Am. 617.
j*,-,^. Petition of Lord Fairfax,
that a conimiilion might ilfue for running and marking the dividincT line between his diftrid: and the province of Virgmia.
2:733, Nor. 29. Order of the king in council
for commiflioners to fur- vey and fettle the faid di- viding line between the proprietary and royal ter- ritory,
X726, Aug. 5, Report of the Lords of trade
relating to the feparating the government of the province of New-Jerfey from New-York. Sm, N. J. 423-
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 27J
Survey and report of the i737>Aug-io. commi 111 oners appointed on tlie part of the crown to fettle the line between the crown and Lord Fair- fax.
Survey and report of the 1737, Aug. 11. commiirioners appointed on the part of I^ord Fair- fax to fettle the line be- tween the crown and him.
Order of reference of the 1738, Dec. at. furveys between the crown and Lord Fairfax to the council for plantation af- fairs.
Treaty with the Indians of 1744, June, the 6 nations at Lancafter.
Report of the council for 1745, Apr. 6i plantation affairs, fixing the head fprings of Rap- pahannoc^nd Patowmac, and a commiflion to ex- tend the line.
Order of the king in council 1 745, Apr. n, confirming the faid report of the council for planta- tion affairs.
Articles preliminaries pour 1748, Apr. 5*- parvenir a la paix, fignes a Aixla-Chapelle entre les' miniftres de France, de lar Grande-Bretagne, & de^
276 NOTES ON VIRGINIA.
Provinces-Unies des Pays- Bas. 2. Mem. de TAm, 159.
1748, May jti. Declaration des minifters de
France, de la Grande-Bre- tagne, & des Provinces- Unies des Pays-Bas, pour re<5tifier les articles I. & II. des preliminaires. 2. Mem. Am. 165.
1748,0a:. 7-18. 22.0.2. The general and definitive
treaty of peace concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle. Lon. Mag. 1748. 503. French. 2. Mem. Am. 169.
1754- - A treaty with the Indians.
1758, Aug. 7, A conference between gov-
ernor Bernard and Indian nations at Burlington. Sm. N. J. 449. .
1758, 0<5tR» A conference between gover-
nor Denny, governor Ber- nard and others, and In* dian nations at Eafton. Sm. N. J. 455.
175^, July aj, 33''G. %. The capitulation of Niagara.
175 — The king's proclamation
promifing lands to foldiers.
4763, Feb. 10. 3. G. J. The definitive treaty conclu- ded at Paris. Lon. Mag. 1763. 149.^
2760,0(^.7. G. 3, A proclamation for regulat- ing the ceffions made by
NOTES ON VIRGINIA. 277
the laft treaty of peace.
Guth. Geogr. Gram. 623. The king's proclamation 1763.
againft fettling on any
lands on the waters, weft- ward of the Allghaney. Deed from the fix nations of 1768, Nov. 3.
Indians to William Trent
and others for lands Be- twixt the Ohio and Mo-
nongahela. View of the
title to Indiana. Phil.
Steiner and Gift. 1776. Deed from the fix nations of 1768, Nov. 5.
Indians to the crown for
certain lands and fettling
a boundary. M, S.
APPENDIX.
THE preceding flieets having been fubmitted to my friend Mr. Charles Thompfon, iecre- tary of Congrefs, he has lurniihed me with the following oblervatlons, which have too much mer- it not to be communicated.
( I.) p. 20. Befides the three channels of com- munication metioned between the v/eHern waters and the Atlantic, there are two others, to which the Pennfylvanians are turning their attention ; one from Preque-ifle, on Lake Erie, to Le Boeuf, down the Alleghaney to Kifkiminitas, then up the Kiflciminitas, and from thence, by afmall portage, to Juniata, which falls into the Sufquehanna : the other from Lake Ontario to the Eaft Branch of the Delaware, and do^vn that to Philadelphia. Both thefe are faid to be very praflicable ; and, confidering the enterprifmg temper of tlie Penn- fylvanians, and particularly the merchants of Phi- ladelphia, whofe object is concentered in promot- ing the commerce and trade of one city, it is not improbable but one or both of thefe communica- tions will he opened and improved.
(i.) p. 22. The refleflions I was led intb on viewing this palfage of the Patowmac through the Blue ridge were, that this country muft have fuf- fered fome violent convulfion, and that the face of it muft have been changed from what it probably was fome centuries ago : that the broken and rag- ged faces of the mountain on each fide cf tlie riv-
28a APPENDIX.
er ; the tremendous rocks, whicli are left with one end fixed in the precipice, and the other jutting out, and femingly ready to fall for want of fupport ; the bed of the river 'for feveral miles belov/ ob- ftructed, and filled with the loofe (lones carried from this mound ; in fhort, every thing on which you call your eye evidently demonftrates a difrup- ture and breach in the mountain, and that, before this happened, what is now a fruitful vale, was for- merly a ^reat lake or colledion of v/ater, which pof- {Tibly might have here formed a mighty cafcade,or had its vent to the ocean by the Sufquehanna, where the Blue ridge feems to terminate. Befides this, lliere are other parts of this country which bear evident traces of a like convulfion. ^ From the bed accounts I have been able to obtain, the place where the Delaware now flows through the Kitta- tinny mountain, which is a continuation of what is called the North ridge, or mountain, was not ' its original courfe, but that it palled through what is now called nhe Wind-gap,' a place feveral miles to the weftward, and above an hundred feet higher than the prefent bed of the river. This Wind-gap is about a mile broad, and the ftones in it fuch as feem to have been wafhed for ages by water ruiming over them. Should this have been the cafe, there mull have been a large lake behind that mountain, and by feme uncommon fwell in the waters, or by fome convulfion of nature the river muft have opened its way through a different part of the mountain, and m.eeting there with kfs obllruc^ion, carried away with it the oppofmg mounds of earth and deluged the country below with the immenfe colkaion of waters to whick
APPENDIX. 2Sf
Xhk new pafTage gave vent. There are fllll re- maining, and daily difcovered, innumerable in- ftnnccs of i'uch a deluge on both fides cf die river, after It paiTed the hills above the falls of Trenton., and reached the champaign. On the New-Jerfey fide, which is fiattsr than the PennlylvAnia fide, all the country below Crofwick liills feems to have besn overflowed to the diftance of from ten to fif- teen miles back from the river, and to have ac- quired a new foil by the earth and clay brought: dovv'n and mixed with the native fand. The fpot on which Philadelphia ftands evidently appears to be made ground. The different ftrata through "whicli they pafs in digging to water, the acorns, leaves, and fometimes branches, wliich are found about twenty feet belov/ the furface, all feem to dem.onftrate this. I am informed that at York- town in Virginia, In the bank of the river, there are different ftrata of fhells and earth, one above another, which feem to point cut that the country there has undergone feverai changes ; that the fea has, for a fuccefnon of ages, occupied the place where dry land now appears : and that the ground has been fuddenly railed at various periods. What a change Vv^ould It make In the country below, fhould the mountains at Niagara, by any accident, be cleft aiunder, and a paiFage fuddenly opened to drain ofF the waters of Erie and the upper lakes ! While ruminating on theie fubjecls, I have ofted been hurried away by fancy, and led to in:- agine, that what is now the bay cf Mexico, v.-as once a cliampaign country ; and that from the point or cape of Florida, there was a continued range of mountains through Cuba^ Plifpaniola,
i. Mm
W
2 82 APPENDIX.
p0rto rico, Maitlnique, Gaudaloupe, .Barbadoe* Lin J Trinidad, till it reached the coaft of America, and formed the Ihores which bounded the ocean, and guarded the country behind ; that, by fome convulfion or laock of nature, the fea had broken through thefe mounds, and deluged that vail plain, till it reached the foot of the Andes ; that being there heaped up by the trade-winds, always blowing from one quarter, it had found its way back, as it continues to do through the gulph be- tween Florida and Cuba, carrying \vitli it the loom and fand it may have fcooped from the country it had occupied, part of which it may have depofited on the fhores of North-America, and with part formed the banks of Newfoundland. But thefe are only the vifions of fancy.
3. p. 46. There is a plant, or weed, called the James-town weed,* of a very fmgular quahty. The late Dr. Bond informed me, that he had un- der his care a patient, a young girl, who had put the feeds of this plant into her eye, which dilated the pupil to iuch a degree, that ihe could fee in the dark, but in the light was almoil; blind. The eitecl: that the leaves had when eaten by a fliip's crew that arrived at James-town, are well known. f
(4.) p. 06 Mens. Button has indeed given an aHlicUng pifture of human nature in his defcrip- tlon of the man of America. But fure I am there never was a picture more unlike the origin-
'^ Ddtura p:ricarpUs erects cvatis. Linn. \ Ail hijldme cf ieniporary hnlec'iliiy produced hj ,7, ^ • ,^.,, :^,-,a,i 'p.,^,py.i jr ^f y.r^ '■ 2. c. a..
APPENDIX. 283
al. He grants indeed that his ftatiire is the fame as that of the man of Europe. He might have -admitted, that the Iroquois were larger, and the Lenopi, or Delawares, taller than the people in Europe generally are. But he fays their organs of generation are fmaller and weaker than thoib of the Europeans. Is this a facfc ? I believe not ; at lead it is an obfervation I never heard before.
* They have no beard.' Had he known the pains and trouble it cofts the men to pluck out by the roots the hair that grows on their faces, he wohld have feen that nature had not been deficient in that refped. Every nation has its cuftums. I have feen an Indian beaux, with a looking-glafs in his hand, examining his face for hours together, and plucking out by the roots every hair he could difcover, with a kind of tweezers made of a piece of fine brafs wire, that had been twilled round a flick, and which he ufed with great dexterity. —
* They have no ardor for their females.' It is true, they do not indulge thofe excefles, nor dif- cover that fondnefs which is cuftomary in Europe ; but this is not owing to a dsfe& in nature but to manners. Their foul is wholly bent upon v/ai-. This is what procures them glory among the men, and makes them the admiration of the women. To this they are educated from, their earlift youth. When they purfue game with ardor, when they bear the fatigues of the chafe, Avhen they fuilain and fuffer patiently hunger and cold j it is not fo much for the fake of the game they purfue, as to convince their parents and the council of the na- tion that they are tit to be enrolkd in the numiber of the warriors. The fongs of the women, the
284 APPENDIX.
dance of the warriors, the fage counfel of the chiefs, the tales of the old, the triumphal entry of the warriors retiiiTiing with fuccefs from battle, and the refpecl paid to thofe \vho dillinguifh- ihemfelvcs in war and in fabduini^ their enemies ; in fnort every thing they fee or hear tends to in- fpire them with an ardent defire for military fame. If a young man were to difcover a fond- nefs for women before he had been to war, he would become the contempt of the men and the fcorn and ridicule of the women. Or were he ta indulge hirnfelf with a captive taken in VN'ar, and much more were he to offer violence in order to gratify his luft, he would incur indelible d-igracc. The feeming frigidity of the men, therefore, is the eifecl of manners, and not a defed: of nature. Befides a celebrated warrior is cftener courted by the females, than he has occafion to court-: and this is a point of honor which the men aim at. Inftance limilar to that of Ruth and Boaz* are not uncommon among them. For though the Y.'omen are modeft and dimcult, and fo bafiiful that they feldom lift up their eyes, and fcarce ever look a man full in the face, yet, being brought up in great fubjection, cuflom and manners reconcile them to modes of ading, wliich, judged of by Europeans, would be deemed inconfiilent with the rules of female decorum and propriety. I once iiivv' a young widow, whole hufbandj a warrior,
* ii }:sn Boa^ had eaten and dratih, and his heart *ivc!S irierry^ he ivcnt to l:e doivn at the end of th^ he'ap sj corn ; and Ruth came foftJy, and uncover ;d hh fectj ^iid laid her d'iivn. Ruth in, 2.
285
hid died about eight d.iys before, haftening to fi im her grief, and who hy tearino; her hair, bee
tin- grief, and who hy tearing her hair, beat- ing her breait, and drinking fpirits, made the tears flow in great abundance, in order that fhe might grieve much in a ihart fpace of time, and be ^ar^ nei that evening to another young v/arrior. i'he manner in which this was viewed by the men and women cf'the tribe, who (lood round, filent :^v\d folemn IpeCtators of the icene, and the indifference v\^ith which tlisr anfwered my qnefiion refpeaing it, convinced me that it was no unufual cuftom. 1 have known men advanced in years, whole, wives were old and pad chiid-bearing, take young wives, and have children, though th,e practice v£ polygamy is not common. Does this favor ci frigidity, or v/ant of ardor for the female ? Neitlier do they feera to be deficient in natural affe-flion. I have feen both fathers and mothers in the deep- efl afRi.*]:cn, when their children have been dangcjr- oufly ill 5 though I believe the alFe^^iou is ftrong- er in the defcending than the afcending fcale, and though cuflom forbids a father to grieve immod- erately for a fon flaiu in battle. — 'That they are timerous and cowardly,' is a character with which there is little reafon to charge them, wdien v/e re- coileift the manner in which the Iroquois met Mens.-—— — r, who m. arched into their country ; in which the old men, w^ho fcorned to fly, or to fjrvive tlie capture of their town, braved death, like the old Romans in the tim.e of the Gauls, and in w^hich they foon after revenged themfelves by facking and deftroying Montreal. Eut above all the unfnaken fortitude with which they bear the moft excruciating tortures g,.n.d 4<?ath when
286 APPENDIX.
taken prlfoners, ought to exempt them from that charafter. Much lefs are they to be charaaerifed as a people of no vivacity, and who are excited to aftion or motion only by the calls of hunger and third:. Their dances in which they fo much de- light, and which to an European would be the mofl fevere exercife, fully contradict this, not to men- tion the fatiguing marches, and the toil they vol- untarily and cheerfully undergo in their military expeditions. It is true, that when at home, they do not employ ihemfelves in labor or the culture of the foil : but this again is the effea of cuftoms and manners, which have affigned that to the province of the women. But it is faid, they are averfe to fociety and a focial hfe. Can any thing be more inapplicable than this to a people who always live in towns or clans ? Or can they be faid to have no * republic/ who conduft all their affairs in na- tional councils, who pride themfelves in their na- tional charafter, who confider an infult or injury done to an individual by a ftranger as done to the whole, and refent it accordingly ? In fhort this picture is not apphcaple to any nation of Indians I have ever known or heard of in North- America.
(5.) p. 128. As far as I have been able to learn, the country from the fea coaR to the Alleghaney, and from the moft fouthern waters of James River up to Patuxen River, now in the flate of Maryland, Avas occupied by three different nations of Indians, each of which fpoke a different language, and were under feparate and diftincT: governments. What the original or real names of thofe nations were, I have not been able to leam with certain- ty : but by us they are diilinguifhed by the names
APPENDIX. 287
of Powhatans, Manahoacs, and Monacans, now commonly called Tufcaroras. The Powhatans, who occupied the country from the fea fhore up to the falls of the rivers, were a powerful nation, and feem to have confifted of feven tribes, five on the wellcrn and two on the eaftern fhore. Each of thefe tribes was fubdivided into towns, families, or clans, who lived together. All the nations of Indians in North-America lived in the hunting ftate and depended for fubfiftence on hunting, iifhing, and the fpontaneous fruits of the earth, and a kind of grain which was planted and gath- ered by the women, and is now known by the name of Indian corn. Long potatoes, pumpkins of various kinds, and fquafhes, were alfo found in ufe among theni. They had no flocks, herds, or tamed animals of any kind. Their government Is a kind of patriarchal confederacy. Every town or family has a chief, who is diftinguilhed by a particular title, and whom we commonly call * Sachem.' — The feveral towns or families that compofe a tribe, have a chief who prefides over it, and the feveral tribes com^ofmg a nation have a chief who prefides over the whole nation. Thele chiefs are generally men advanced in years, and dlftlnguiilied by their prudence and abihtles in council. The matters which merely regard a town or fiimily are fettled by the chief and princi- pal men of the town : thofe which regard a tribe, fuch as the appointment of head warriors or cap- tains, and fettling differences between different towns and families, are regulated at a meeting or council of the chiefs from the feveral towns ; and thofe which regard the whole nation, fuch as the miUv-
388 APPENDIX.
In^^ \\^r, conckiJing peace, or forming aihV.fioe^ with th-2 neighboring rKiticns, are deliberated on ■and determined in a national council com.pokd of the •ckiei^ of the tribe, aU^nded by the head war- riors and a niijuber of the chiefs from the towns who are his counfellors. In every town ther^ is a council houfe, where the chief and old men of the town aiTemble, when cccafion requires, and con- fult vrhat is proper to be done. Every tribe has a fixed place for the chiefs of the towns to meet snd confult on the bufinefs of the tribe : and in every nation there is Vv^hat tliey call the central council houfe, or central council fire, where the chiefs of the fcveral tribes, with the principal war- riors, convene to confult and determine on their .national affairs. When any matter is propofed in the national council, it is common for the chicf-> of the feveral tribes to confult thereon apart with their counfellors, and when they have agreed, to deliver the opinion of the tribe at the national council : and as their government feems to refc wholly on perfuafion, they endeavor, by mutual conceffions, to obtain unanimity. Such is the government that ftill fubfifcs among the Indian nations bordering on the United States. Some hiftorians feem to think, that the dignity of office of Sachem was hereditary. But that opinion does not .appear to be well founded. The Sachem or chief of the tribe feems to be by election. And fometimes perfons who are ilrangers, and adopted into the tribe, are promoted to this dignity on ac- count of their abilities. Thus on the arrival of captain Smith, the firil founder of the colony of I'irginia. Opechacanough, who was Sachem or
APPENDIX. 280
ciiief of the Chickahominles, one of the tribes or the Powhatans is laid to have been of another tribe, and even of another nation, fo that no cer- tain account could be obtained of his origin or de- fcent. The chiefs of the nation feem to have been by a rotation among the tribes. Thus when capt. Smith, in the year 1609, queftioned Powha- tan (who was the chief of the nation, and whofe proper name is faid to have been Wohunfonacock) refpetfting the fucceffion, the old chief informed him, * that he was very old and had feen the death
* of all his people thrice ;* that not one of thefe
* generations were then living except himfelf ; < that he mud foon die and the fucceffion defcend
* in order to his brother Opichapan, Opechanca- ' nough, and Catataugh, and then to his tv/o fif-
* ters, and their two daughters/ But thefe were Appellations defignating the tribes in the confed- eracy. For the perfons named are not his real brothers, but the chiefs of different tribes. Ac- cordingly in 161 8, when Powhatan died, he was fucceded by Opichapan, and after his deceafe Ope-
* T/m is one generation more than the poet afcr'ibes io the life of Nefor,
To d' ede duo men geneai meropon anthropon Ephthiath oi oi profthen ama traphen ed* egneonto En pulo egathee, meta de tritatoifm anaffen.
I HoM. II. 250. T1V0 generations now had pajl away^ Wife by his rules y and happy by his fivay ; T^nuo ages o'er his native realm he reign^dy And noiu the example of the third remain' d.
POFE*
N N
290 APPENDIX.
cliancanoiigh becarrte chief of the nation. I need only mention another inftance to fhew that the chiefs of the tribes claimed this kindred with the head of the nation. In 1622, when Raleigh Craihaw was with Japazaw, the Sachem or chief of tlie Patomacs, Opechancanough, who had great power and iHfluence, being the fecond man in the nation, and next in fucceition to Opichapan, and who was a bitter but fecret enemy to the Enghfli, and wanted to eng:ige his nation in a war with them, fent two balkets of beads to the Patowmac chief, and defired him to kill the-Englidiman that was with him. JapazHw replied, that the Eng- liiTi were his friends, and Opichapan his brother^ and that therefore there fnould be no blood fhed. between them by his means. It is alfo to be ob- ferv ed, that when the Englifn firil came over, hi all their conferences with any of the chiefs, they conilantly heard him make mention of his bi-other, with whom he n^ufl confult, or to whom he refer- red them, meaning thereby either tlie chief of the nation, or the tribes in confederacy. TheMana- hoacs are fliid to have been a confederacy of four tribes, aad in alliance with the Monacans, in the war which they were carrying on agalnft the Powhatans.
To the northward of thefe there was another powerful nation, which occupied the country from the head of the Chefapeak-bay up to the Kittatln- ney mountain, and as far eauward as Connei^licut river, comprehending that part of New- York v/hich lies betvveen the Highlands and the ocean, all the ftate of New-Jerfey, that part of Pennfyl- ' \^mia which is watered, below the range of the
APPENDIX. 2^1
Kittatinney mountains, by the rivers or ilreams falling into the Delaware, and the county of New- caiUe in the lUte of Delaware, as far as Duck ere'ek. It is to be obferved, that th^ nations of Indians diftinguiihed their countries one from an- other by natural boundaries, fuch as ranges of mountains or ftreams of water. But as the heads of rivers frequently interlock, or approach near to each other, as thofe who live upon a llream claim the country watered by it, they often encroached en each other, and this is a conftant fource of war | between the different nations. The nation Occu- • pying the trad of country laft defcribed, called themfclves Lenopi. The French writers call th^ni Loups ; and among the Englilh they are now commonly called Delavv^ares. This nation or confederacy confilfed of five tribes, who all f|"^6kc one language, i. The Chihohocki, who dvv^elt on the welt fide of the river now called Delaware, a name which it took from Lord De la War, who put into it on his paiTage from Virginia in the year , but which by the Indians was called Chi- hohocki. 2. The Wanami, who irdiabited the country called Nev^-Jerfey, from the P.ariton to the fea. 3. The Munfey who dv/elt on the upper ftreams of the Delaware, from the Kittatinney mountains down to the Lehigh or weftern branch of the Delaware. 4. The Vv'abinga, who are fometimes called River Indians, fometimes Mo- hickanders, and who had their dwellings between the welt branch of Delaware and Hudibn's River, from the Kittatiney ridge down to the Rariton : and 5. The MahxcoUj'^or Mahattan, who occu- pied Staten illand, York iiland (which from its
292 APPENDIX.
being the principal feat of their refidence was formerly called Mahatton) Long ifland and that part of New-York and Conneaicut which lies be- tween Hudfon and Connedicut rivers, from the liighland, wliich is a continuation of the Kittatin- ney ridge down to the found. This nation had a elofe alliance with the Shawanefce, who lived on the Sufquehanna and to the weftward of that riv- er, as far as the Alleghaney mountains, and ear- ned on a Jong war with another powerful nation or confederacy of Indians, which lived to the north of them between the Kittatinney mountains or highlands, and the lake Ontario, and who call themfelves Mingos, and are called by the French writers Iroquois, by the Engliih the Five Nations, and by the Indians to the fouthward, v/ith whom they were at war, MaiTav/omacs. This war was carrying on in its greatell fury, when captain Smith firft arrived in Virginia. The Mingo war- riors had penetrated down the Sufquehanna to the mouth of it. In one of his excurfions up the bay at the mouth of Sufquehanna, in 1 6c8, cap- tain Smith met with fix or feven of their canoes lull of warriors, w^ho were coming to attack their enemies in the rear. In an excurfion which he Iiad made a few weeks before, up the Rappahan- nock, and in wJiich he had a fkirmifh v.^ith a party of the Manahoacs, and t^ken a brother of one of their chiefs prifoner, he firft heard of this nation. For when he afked the priibner, why his nation attacked the Engliih ? the prifoner faid, becaufe his r.;t'^in had heard that the Englifli came from under ihe vrorid to take their Vv-ui-id from them. Sting afked how many v;orlds he knew r he faid.
APPENDIX. 2^s
he knew but one, which was under the fky that covered him, and which confifted of tli€ Powha- tans, the Manaliins, and the Mairawomacs. Being queftioned concerning the latter, he faid they dwelt on a great water to the north, that they had many boats, and lb many men that they waged with all the reft of the world. The Mingo con- federacy then confifted of five tribes j three who are the elder, to wit, the Senecas, who live to the weft, the Mohawks to the eaft, and the Ononda- gas between them ; and two who are called the younger tribes, namely, the Cayugas and Oneidas. All thefe tribes fpeak. one language, and were then united in a clofe confederacy, and occupied the tra<5l of country from the eaft end of lake Erie to lake Champlain> and from the Kittatinney and Highlands to the lake Ontario and. the river Cada- raqui, or St. Lawrence. They had, fometime before that, carried on a war with a nation, who lived beyond the lakes, and were called Adiron- dacs. In this war they were worfted : but hav- ing made a peace with tliem, through the inter- ceffion of the French, who were then fettling in Canada, they turned their arms againft the Leno- pi ; and as this war was long and doubtful, they, in the courfe of it, not only exerted their whole force, but put in pra<5liGe every meafure which prudence or policy could devife to bring it to a fuccef^ul iflue. For this purpofe they bsnt their courfe down the Sufquehanna, w^arring with the Indians in their way, and having penetrated as far as the mouth of it, they, by the terror of their arms, engaged a nation, now known by the name of Nanticocks, Conoys and Tuteloes, who lived
-94 APPENDIX..
between Chefapeak and Delaware bays, and bor» dering on the tribe of Chihohocki, to enter into an alliance with them. They alfo formed an alli- ance with the Monacans, and Hlmulated them to a war with the Lenopi and their confederates. At the fame time the Mohawks carried on a furi- ous war down the Pludibn againft the Mohiccons and River Indians, and compelled them to pur- chafe a temporary and precarious peace, by ac- knowledging them to be their fuperiors, and pay- ing an annual tribute. The Lenopi being fur- rounded with enemies, and hard prefTed, and hav- ing loft many of their warriors, v/ere at laft com- pelled to fue for peace, which was granted to them on the condition that they fliould put them- lelves under the proteciion of the Mirhgoes, con- fine themfelves to raifmg com, hunting for the fubfiftence of their families, and no longer have the power of making war. This is wliat the In- dians call making them women. Arid in this condition the Lenopis v»'erc vrhen William Penn firft arrived and began the fettleilient of Pennfyl- vania in 1682.
(6.) p. 144. From the figurative language of the Indians, as well as from the pra6tice of thofe we are ftill acquainted with, it is evident that it was, and flill continues to be, aconftant cuftom among the Indians to gather up the bones of the dead, and depofit them in a particular place. — Thus, when they make peace with any nation, with whom they have been at war, after burying the hatchet, they take up the belt of wampum, and fay, * We now gather up all the bones of thofe < who have been flain, and bury them, &c.' See
APPENDIX. 2^5
all the treaties of peace. Befides, it is cuHomary when any of them die at a diftance from home, to bmTy them, and afterwards to come and take up the bones and carry them home. At a treaty which was held at Lancader with the fix nations, one of them died, and was buried in the woods a little diftance from the to\vn. Some time after a party came and took up the body, feparatcd the flefli from the bones by boiling and fcraping them clean, and carried them to be depofited in the fepulchres of their anceftors. The operation was fo offenfive and difagreeable, that nobody could come near them while they were performing it.
(7.) p. 147. The Ofwegatchies, Connofedagos and Cohunnegagoes, or, as they are commonly called, Caghnewagos, are of the Mingo or Six- nation Indians, who, by the influence of the French mlffionaries, have been feparated from their nation, and induced to fettle there.
I do not know of v/hat nation tlie Augquagahs arc ; but fufpeft they are a family of die Senecas.
The Nanticocks and Conoies were formerly of a nation that lived at the head of Chefapeak-bay, and who, of late years, have been adopted into the Mingo or Iroquois confederacy, and make a feventh nation. The Monacans or Tufcaroras, who were taken into the confederacy in 17 1 2, mak- ing the fixth. •
The Saponles are families of the Wanamies,
who removed from New-Jerfey, and, with the
Mohiccons, Muniles, and Delawares, belong to
the Lenopi nation. TheMingos are a war colony
. from the- fix nations j fo are the Cohunnewagoso
295 APPENDIX.
OF the reft of the northern tribes I never have "been able to learn any thing certain. Eat all ac- counts feem to agree in this, that there is a very- powerful nation, diftinguKhed by a variety of names taken from the feveral towns or families, but commonly called Tawas or Outawas, who fpeak one language, and live round and on the waters that fall into the weftern lakes, and extend from the waters of the Ohio quite to the waters ^falling into Hudfon's bay.
No. IL
J n the Summer of the Tear ty^3, It *was expeBed,, that the Assembly of Virginia m^oidd call a Convention yb'r the E/lalljfJjment of a Consti- tution. The following Draught of a Fun- damental Constitution for the Common- wealth of Virginia nvas then prepared, with a dejtgn of he'ing propofed in fuch Convention had it taken place.
T'^0 the citizens of the commonwealth of Virginia, and all others whom it may con- cern, the delegates for the faid commonwealth ir convention afiembled, fend greeting.
It is known to you, and to the world, that the government of Great-Britain, with v/hich the American States were not long fmce connefted, aiTumed over them an authority unwarrantable and oppreffive ; that they endeavored to enforce this authority by arms, and that the ftates of New- Hampfhire, MalTachufetts, Rhode-Ifland, Con- nefticut, New-York, Nev/-Jerfey, Pennfylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, and Georgia, confidering refift- ance, with all its train of horrors, as a lefler evil than abje<51:fubmi{Iion, clofed in the appeal to arms. It hath pleafed the Sovereign Difpofer of all hu- man events to give to this appeal an iiTue favor- able to the rights of the ftates ; to enable them to rejedt for ever all dependance on a government which had fhewn itfelf fo capable of abufmg the trufts repofed in it ; and to obtain from that gov- O o
298 APPENDIX.
ernnient a folemn and explicit acknowledgement that they are free, fovereign, and independent ftates. During the progress of that war, through ■Vi^hich we had to labor for the efcablilhment of cu.r rights, the legidature of the commonwealth of Virginia found it neceffary to make a temporary organization of government for preventing anar- chy, and pointing our efforts to the tvv o important objects of war againft oiir invaders, and peace and happinefs arjiong ourfelves. Eut this like all other a^LS of legiflation, being fubjecl to change by fubfequent legiflatures, polTefTing equal power witii themfelves,' it has been thought expedient, that it fliould receive thofe amendments which time and trial have fuggefted, and be rendered permanent by a power fuperior to that of the cr- dinary legillaturer The general aiTembly therefore of this (late recommend it to the good people there- of, to chufe delegates to meet in general conveil- tion, with powers to form a confiitution of govern- ment for them, and to declare thofe fundamentals to which all our laws prefent and future iliall be fjbordinate . and, in compliance v/ith this recom- mendatior., they have thought proper to malie choice of us, and to veil us with powers for this purp ofe.
We therefore, the dele^ates,^ chofen by the faid good people of this ftate for the purpofe aforefaid, and now aiTcmbled in general convention, do in execution of the authority with which we are in- vefted, eilablifh the following confiitution and fundamentals of government for the faid ftate of Virginia.
The faid flare fnall for cvtr hereafter be govern- ed as a commonwealth.
APPENDIX. • 299
The powers of government flirul be divided into three du'tinft departments each of them to be confided to a feparate body of magiftracy ; to wit, thofe which are legiilatlve to one, thofe vvhich are judiciary to another, and thofe which are execii- tlA'e to another. No perfon, or colledion of per- fons, being of one of thefe departments, fliall ex- ercife any power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the inftances hereinafter ex- prefsly permitted.
The legiflature fhall confifl: of two branches, the one to be called the houfe of delegates, the other th.> fenate, and both together the general affembly. The concurrence of both of thefe, expreffed on three feveral readings, fhall be necellary to the paliage of a law.
Delegates for the general affembly (hall be cho- fen on the lad Monday of November in every year. But if an eledtion cannot be concluded on that day it may be adjourned from day to day till it can be concluded.
The number of delegates which each county may fend fliall be in proportion to the number of its qualified electors ; and the whole number of de- legates for the flate fhall befo proportioned to the whole number of qualified electors in it, that they fliall never exceed 300, nor be fewer that 100. Whenever fuch excefs or deficiency fhall take place, the houfe of delegates fo deficient or ex- cefllve fhall, notwitlnlandino: this, continue in beinp- during its legal term : but they ihall during that term, re-adjuH the proportion, fo as to bring their number within the limits before mentioned at the enfuing eledion. If any county be reduced in its
joo APPENDIX.
qualitied electors below the number autliorifed to fend one delegate, let it be annexed to fome ad^ joining county.
For the eledtion of fenators, let tlie feveral counties be allotted \rf the fenate, from time ta time, into fuch a:id fo many diilrifts as they Ihall iind beft ; and let each county at the time of ele^H:- ing its delegates, chufe fenatorial ele<ftors, quali- fied as themfelves are, and four in number for each delegate their county is entitled to fend, who ftiall convene, and conduct themfelves, in fuch manner as the legiilature Ihall direct, v/ith the fenatorial eiediors from the other counties of their diftric% and then chufe, by ballot, one fenator for. every iix delegates which their diftri<5t is entitled to chufe. Let the fenatorial diftrivfts be divided into two clafies, and let the members elected for one of them be difTolved at the firll enfuing general election of delegates, the other at the next, and fo on alternately for ever.
All free male citizens, of full age, and fane jjund, who for one year before ihall have been re- fident in the county, or fliall through the whole of that time have poffefTed therein real property of the value of or ihall for the fame time hav^ been enrolled in the militia, and no others, fhall have a right to vote for delegates for the faid county, and for fenatorial electors for the diftricT:. They ihall give their votes perfonally ^nd viva voce.
The general aifembly fhall meet at tlie place to tvhich the laft adjournment was, on the ^zd day after the day of the election of delegates, and thence forward at any other time or place on their
APPENDIX. ^Qi-
0wn adjournment, till their office expires, whidi • fhall be on the day preceding that appointed for. the meeting of die next general aiFemhly. But if they Ihall at any time adjourn for more than one year, it fhall be as if they had adjourned for one year precifely. Neither houfe, without the con- currence of the other, (hall adjourn for more than one week, nor to any other place than the one at which they are fitting. The governor Ihall alfo have power, with the advice of the council of Hate, to call them at any other time to the fame place, or to a different one, if that Ihall have beconie fmce the laft adjournment, dangerous from an en^ emy, or from infeccion.
A majority of either houfe fliall be a quorum, and ihall be requifite for doing bufmefs ; but any fmaller proportion which from time to time Ihall be thought expedient by the refpe<a:ive hoiifes, Ihall be fufficient to call for, and to puniih their nonattending members, and to adjourn themfeives for any time not exceeding one week.
The members, during their attendance on tlie general atlembly, and for ib long a time before and after as Ihall be neceffary for travelling to and from the fame, fhall be privileged from all perian- al reftraint and alfault, and Ihall have no other privilege, whatfoever. They Ihall receive during the fame time, daily wages in gold or filver, equal to the value of two buihels of wlieat. This value Ihall be deemed one dollar by the bufliel till the year 1790, in which, and in every tenth year thereafter, the general court, at tlieir firft feffions in the year, ihall caufe a fpecial jury, of the moil refpsaable m^i'chants and farmers, to be fummoa^
^2 APPENDIX;
*ed, to declare what (Hall have been the avera^sje- value of wheat during the laft ten years ; which averaged value fhall be the meafure of wages for the ten fubfequent years.
Of this general aflembly, the treafurer, attorney general, regiller, minillers of the gofpel, officers of the regular armies of this ftate, or of the United States, perfons receiving falaries or emoluments from any power foreign to our confederacy, thofe who are not refident in the county for which they are chofen delegates, or diftrids for which they are chofen fenators, thofe who are not qualified as eleflors, perfons who fhall have committed "treafon, felony, or fuch other crime as would fub- ]e6l them to infamous punifhment, or who fhall have been convicted by due courfe of law of bri- bery or corruption, in endeavoring to procure an eleftion to the faid aflembly, fhall be incapable of being members. All others, not herein elfewhere excluded, who may elect, fhall be. capable of being elected thereto.
Any member of the faid aiTembly accepting any office of profit under this flate, or the United States, or any of them, fhall thereby vacate his feat but Ihall be capable of being re-eledted.
Vacancies occafioned by fuch difqualifications, by death, or otherwife, Ihall be fupplied by the electors, on a writ from the f^eaker of the refped- ive houfe.
The general affembly fnall not have power to nifringe this conftitution ; to abridge the civil rights of any perfon on account of his religious belief; to reftrain him from profeffing and fup- porting that belief, or to compel him to contrlbu-
\. APPENDIX. 303
t'lons, • other than thoie he {hall have p3rfoi:.rJly 'ftipulated for the fupport of that or any othe; ; to ordain death for any crime but treafon or murder, or military cfFences ; to pardon, or give a power of pardoning perfcns duly convi(5led of treafon or felonr, but intlead thereof they may fubftitute one or two new trials, and no more ; to pafs laws for punifhipg a>5tions done before th^ exillence of fuch laws ; to pafs any bill of attainder of treafon or felony/ ; to prefcrlbe torture In any cafe whatever ; nor to permit the introduction of any m^ore liaves to refide in this (late, or tlie continuance of flavery beyond the generation which fhall be living on the thirty-flrll: day of December, one thoufand eight hundred: all perfons born after that day being
■hereby declared free.
The -general aifembly fhall have power to fever from this ftate all or any parts of its territory weft ward of the Ohio, or of the meridian of the
•mouth of the Great Kanhaway, and to cede to congrefs one hundred fquare miles of territory in
■ any other part of this ftate, exempted from the
, jurifdi«ftion and government of this ftate fo long as congrefs fball hold their feftions therein, or in any territory adjacent thereto, which may be ceded to them by any other ftate.
ThejT fnall have power to appoint the fpeakers of their refpeftive houfes, treafurer, auditors, at- torney-general, regifter, all general officers of the military, their own clerks and ferjeants, and no other officers, except where, in other parts of this conftitution, fuch appointment is exprefsly given them.
304 APPENDIX.
The executive powers fhll! be exercifed by a Governor^ who fhall be chofen by joint ballot of both houfes of afTembly, and when chofen fliall re- main in office five years, and be ineligible a fecond time. During his term he fliall hold no other office or emolument under this ftate, or any other ftate or power whatfoever. By executive powers, we mean on reference t© thofe pov/ers exercifed under our former government by the crown as of its prerogative, nor that thefe Ihall be the ftandard of what may or may not be deemed the rightful powers of the governor. We give him thofe powers only, which are neceffary to execute the laws (and adminiller the government) and which are not in their nature either legiflative or judiciary.' The application of this idea mud be left to reafon. We do however exprefsly deny him the preroga- tive powers of erecting courts, offices, boroughs, corporations, fairs, markets, ports, beacons, light- houfes, and fea-marks ; of laying embargoes, of eftablifning precedence, of retaining within the (late or recalling to it any citizen thereof, and of making denizens, except fo far as he may be au- thorifed from time to time by the legifxature to exercife any of thefe powers. The powers of de- claring war and concluding peace, of contra.cting alliances, of ifTuing letters of marque and reprifal, ofraifmg and introducing armed forces, of build- ing armed veflels, forts, or ftrong holds, of coining money or regulating its value, of regulating weights and meafures, we leave to be exercifed un- der the authority of the confederation : but in all cafes refpedting them which are out of tlie faid confederation, they fhall be exercifed by the gover-
APPENDIX. 305
iior, under the regulation of fuch laws as the leglf- iature may think it expedient to pafs.
The whole military cf this ftate, v/hether regu- lar, or of militia, fhall be fubjeft to his direclions ; but he fhall leave the execution of thofe direiftions to the general officers appointed by the Jegill.iture.
His falary fhall be fixed by the legiflature at the feiTion of the ailembly in which he fliall be ap- pointed, and before fuch appointment be made ; or if it be not then fixed, it fliall be the fame which his next predecefTor in office was entitled to. In either cafe he may demand it quarterly out of any money which Ihall be in the public treafury ; and it fhall not be in the power of the legiflature to give him lefs or more, either during his con- tinuance in ofHce, or after he fhall have gone out of it. The lands, houfes, and other things appro- priated to the ufe of the governor, fhall remain to his ufe during his continuance in ofHce.
A Council of State Ihall be chofen by j oint ballot oi both houfes of the affembly, who fhall hold their offices feven years, and be ineligible a fecond time, and who, while they fliall be of the laid council, fhall hold no other office or emolument under this flate, or any other flate or power what- soever. Their duty ihall be to attend and advife the governor when called on by him, and their ad- vice in any cafe fhall be a fanftion to him. - They vfhalLaiib have power, and it fhall be their duty, to '.meet at their own will, and to give their advice, •lliough not required by the governor, in cafes where they fhall think the pubhc good calls for it. Their advice and proceedings fli-iU be entered in books to be kept for that purpole, and ihall be P p
^a6 APPENDIX,
figned as approved or difapproved by the mem* bers prefent. Thefe books fliall be laid before ei- fher hoiife of alTembly vrheTi. called for by them. The faid conncil fhall confiil of eight members for the prefent ; bat their numbers may be increa- {ed or reduced by the legiflature, whenever they fhall think it neceilary ; provided fnch reduclion be made only as the appointments become vacant by death, refignation, difqualification, or regular deprivation. A majority of their a6]:ual number, .and not fewer, fhall be a quonim. They ihall he- al Sowed for the prefent each by the year» pa.}" able quarterly out of any money which fhall be In the public treafury. Their falary however may be increafed or abated from time to time, at the difcretion of the legiflature 5 provided fuch in- creafe or abatement fhall not, by any ways or means, b;^ made to cfTecfl either then, or at any fu- ture time, any one of thofe then actually in afRce. At the end of each quarter their falary fhall be divided rito equal portions, by the number of days on which, during that quarter, a council has been ^leld, or required by the governor, or by their own adjournment, and one of thofe portions Ihall be v.-ithheld from each member for every of the faid days which, without caufe allowed good by the board, he failed to attend, or departed before ad- journment without their leave. If no board fhould liave been held during that quarter, there Ihall be no deduftion.
They ihall annually chiufc a Prcfuknty who Ihall preiide in council m the abfence of the governor, snd who, in cafe of his ofnce becoming vacant by death or otherwife, ftiail liave authority to exer-
APPENDIX. yjj
€ife all his fiindions, till a siew appointment be made, as he fnall alfo in any interval during which the governor Ihall declare himfelf unable to attend to the duties of his office.
The judiciary pov^^'ers fuall be exerclfed by county courts and fuch other inferior courts as tlie legiflature fhail think proper to continue or to ered, by three iuperior courts, to wit, a court of admiralty, a general court of common law, and a high court of chancery ; and by one fupreme court, to be called the court of appeals.
The judges of the high court of chancery, ge- neral court, and court of admiralty, ihall be four in number, each to be appointed by joint ballot of both houfes of aiTembly, and to hold their offices during good behaviour. While they continue judges, they fhail hold no other office or emolu- ment, under this ilate, or any other if ate or power whatfoever, except that they may be delegated to congrefs, receiving no additional allowance.
Thefe judges, affembled together^ Ihall confti- tute the court of appeals whofe bafmefs Ihi-ill be to receive and determine appeals from the three fu- perior courts but to receive no original caufes, except in the cafes exprefsly permitted herein.
A majority of the members of either of thcfe courts, and -not fewer, Ihall be a quorum. But hi the court of appeals nine members ihall be ne- ceflary to do buhnefs. Any fmaller numbers however may be authorifed by the iegillature to adjourn their refpective courts.
They fhail be allowed for the prefent each by the year, payable quarterly out of any money Vv'hich ihall be in the public treafury. Their falaries however may be increafed er
3o8 APPENDIX.
abated, from time to time, at the dircretlon of the legillature, provided fuch increafe or abatement Ihail not, b^y any ways or means, be made to affedt, either then, or at any future time, any one of thofe then adually in office. At the end of each quarter their falary fhall be divided into equal portions by the number of days on which, during that quarter, their refpedlive courts fat, or fhould have fat, and one of thefe portions fhall be with- held from each member for every of the fiid days, which, without' caufe allowed good by his court j he failed to attend, or departed before adjourn- ment without their leave. If no court Ihould have DtQn held during the quarter, there fhall be no dedudiion.
There fnail moreover be a Courl of Impeachments to confift of three members of the council of flate^ one of each of the fuperior courts of chancery, common law, and admiralty, two members of the houfe of delegates and one of the fenate, to be chofen by the body refpecltvely of which they are. Before this court any m.ember of the three brands es of government, that is to fay, tlie governor, any member of the council, of the two houfes of legill^i- ture, or of the fuperior courts, may be impeached by the governor, the council, or either of the faid houies or courts, and by no other, for fuch mif- behaviour in office as would be fufficient to remove him therefrom : and the only fentence they Ihall ha\T authority to pafs Ihall be that of deprivation and future incapacity of office. Seven members ihall be requifite to make a court, and tv>^o thirds, of thofe prefent muil concur in the fetttenee. The ©ffences cogniz^able by this court Ihall be cogniz-
APPENDIX. 309
able b^f no other, and they fhall be triers of th© fa<5l as well as judges of the law.
The juiUces or judges cf the inferior courts al» ready erected, or hereafter to be eredea- lliall be appointed by the governor, on advice of the coun- cil of ftate, and Ihali hold their offices during, good behaviour, or the- exiftance ot their court. For breach of the good behaviour, they Ihall be tried according to the laws of the land, before the court of appeals, who Ihall be judges of the fad as . well as of the law. The only fentence they Ihall have authority to pafs, ihali be that of deprivation and future incapacity of ofhce, and two thirds of the menabers prefentmu (I concur in this fentence.
All courts ihall appoint their own clerks, who fliall hold their offices during good behaviour, or the exiilence of their court : they (hall alio ap- point all other their attending officers to continue during their pleafure. Clerks appointed by the fupreme or- the fuperior courts Ihall be removeable by their refpeftive courts. Thole to be appointed by other courts Ihall have been previoully exam- ined, and certified ta be duly, qualified, by fome two members of the general court, and ihall be removeable for breach of the good behaviour by the court of appeals only, who ihall be judges of. the fad as well as of the law. Tv/o thirds of the members prefent muft concur in the fentence.
The juftices or judges of the inferior courts inay be members of the legiilature.
The judgment of no inferior court Ihall be final, in any civil cafe, of greater value than 50 bulhels of wheat, as lail rated in the general court for fettling the allowance to the jnembers of tlie gen-
310 APPENDIX.
eral aflembly, nor in any cafe of treafon, felony, or other crime which fhould fubjed the party to infamous punilhment.
In all cafes depending before any court, other than thofe of impeachments, of appeals, and mi- litary courts, facts put in iilue ihall be tried by jury, and in all courts whatever witnelTes fhail give teftimony viva voce in open court, wherever their attendance can be procured : and all parties ihall be allowed counfel and compulfory procefs for their witneffes.
Fines, amercements, and terms of imprifon- ment left indefinite by the law, other than for con- tempts, fiiall be fixed by the jury, triers of the of- fence.
The governor, two councillors of (late, and a judge from each of the fuperior courts of chan- cery, common law, and admiralty, ihall be a council to revife all bills which Ihali have palled both houfes of alTembly, in which council the governor, when prefent, fhall prefide. Every bill before it becomes a law, Ihall be prefented to this council, who fhall have a right to advife its rejedion, returning the bill, with their advice and reafons in v/riting, to the houfe in which it origina- ted, who fhall proceed to reconfider the faid bill. But if after fuch reconfideration, two thirds of the houfe fhall be of opinion the bill fhould pafs finally, they faail pafs and fend it, with the advice and written reafons of the faid council of revifion to the other houfe, wherein, if two thirds alfo fhall be of opinion it fhould pafs finally, it fhall thereupon become law; otberwife it Ihall not.
If any bill, prefented to the faid council, be not, within one week (evclufive of the day of prefent-
APPENDIX. 311
ing it) returned by them, with their advice of re- jedion and reafons, to the houfe wherein it ori- ginated, or to the clerk of the faid houfe, in cafe of its adjournment over the expiration of the week, it {hall be law from the expiration of the week, and fhall then be demandable by tlie clerk of the houfe of delegates, to be filed of record in his of- fice.
The bills which they approve (hall become lavr from the time of fuch approbation, and fhall then be returned to, or demandable by, the clerk of the houfe of delegates, to be filed of record in his office.
A bill rejected on advice of the council of re- vifion, may again be propofed, during the fame feffion of aifembiy, with fuch alterations as will render it conformable to their advice.
The mem.bers of the faid council of revifion (hall be appointed from time to time by the board or court of which they refpe6tively are. Two of the executive and two of the judiciary members fliall be requifite to do bufmefs : and to prevent the evils of non-attendance, the board and courts may, at any time name all, or fo many as they will, of their members, in the particular order in Vv^hich they would chufe the duty of attendance to devolve from preceding to fubfequent members, the preceding failing to attend. They ihall have additionally for their fcrvices in this council the fame allowance as members of aifembly have.
The confederation is made a part of this con- ftitution, fubjecl to fuch future alterations as fhall be agreed to by the legiHatiire of this ftate, and by all the other confederating ftates.
gi2 APPENDIX.
Tlie delegates to congrefs fhall be five in'" num- ber ; any three of whom, and no fewer, maybe a reprefer.tatlon. They fliall be appointed by joint ballot of both houfes of affembly for any term -not exceedhig one year, fubjecl to be recalled, wichhi the term by joint vote of both, the faid houfes. They may at the fame time be members of the legifiative or judiciary departments, but not of the executive.
The benefits of the writ of Habeas Corpus fhall be extended, by the legiflature, to ever)' per- fon within this ftate, and without free, and fliall be fo facihtated that no perfon may be detained in prifon more than ten days after he Ihall have de- manded and been refufed fuch writ by the judge appointed by law, or If none be appointed, then by any judge of a fuperlor court, nor more than ten days after fuch a writ fhall have been ferved on the perfon detaining him, and no order given, on due examination, for his I'emandment or dll- -charge.
The military • fhall be Subordinate to the civil ;power.
Printlng-prefies '{hall be fubjedl to no other re- ilraint than liablenefs to legal profecution for falfe fafts printed and publifhed.
Any two of the three branches of government concuring in opinion, each by the voices of two .thirds of their whole exlililng number, that a con- vention is necelfary for altering this conftitution, .or correding breaches of it, they Ihall be authori- fed to ilfue wTlts to every county for the ele.51:Ion ■of fo many delegates as they are author ifed to iend to the general affembly, which elections ihall
APPENDIX. 315
be held, and writs returned, as the laws fiiall have provided in the cafe of eledtions of delegates to af- fembly, mutatis, mutandis, and the faid delegates ihall meet at the ufual place of holding affemblies, three months after date of fuch writs, and fhall be acknowledged to have equal powers with this prefent convention. The laid writs fhall be fign- cd by all the members approving the fame.
^ To introduce this government, the following fpe- cial and temporary provifion is m-ade.
This convention being authorifed only to amend thofe laws which conftituted the form of govern- ment, no general difTolution of the v/hole fyftem of laws can be fuppofed to have taken place : but all laws in force at the meeting of this convention^ and not inconfiftent with this conftitution, remain in full force, fubjec^ to alterations by the ordinary legiflature.
The prefent general affembly fhall continue ttll the 42d day atter the laft Monday of November in this prefent year. On the faid laft Monday of November in this prefent year, the feveral counties fhall by their eledors qualified as provided by this conftitution, eledi: delegates, which for the prefent fhall be, in number, one for every militia
of the faid county, according to the lateft returns in pofTefTion of the. governor, and fhall alfo chufe fenatorial eledlors in proportion thereto, which fenatonal electors fhall meet on the 14th day after the day of their eledion, at the court-houfe of that county of their prefent diftrid which would ftand firft in an alphabetical arrangement of their coun- ties, and fhall chufe fenators in the proportion fixed by this conftitution. The ck-aions and re- turns ftiall b^ conducted, in all circumstances not
5 14 APPENDIX.
hereby particularly prefcribed, by the fame perfons and under the fame forms, as prefcribed by the prefent laws in eledions of fenators and delegates of allembly. The faid fenators and delegates ihall conftitute the firft general affembly of the new government, and fhall fpecially apply them- felves to the procuring an exadl return from every county of the number of its qualified eledors, and to the fettlement of the number of delegates to be ele61:ed for the enfuing general affembly.
The prefent governor fhall continue in office to the end of the term for which he was ele^ed.
All other officers of every kind fhall continue In ©ffice as they would have done had their ap- pointment been under this conllitution, and new ones, where new are hereby called for, fhall be ap- pointed by the authority to which fuch appoint- ment is referred. One of the prefent judges of the general court, he confenting thereto, fhall by joint ballot of both houfes of affembly, at their £rft meeting, be transferred to the high court of chancery.
No. III.
An ACT for ejiahll/hlng Religious Freedom^ paffed in the AJfembly of Virginia^ in the beginning of the year 1786.
WELL aware that Almighty God hath cre- ated the mind free ; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punifhments or burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrify and meannefs, and are a de- parture from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chofe not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do ; that the impious prefumption of legiflators and rulers, civil as well as ecclefiaftical, who, being themfelves but fallible and uninfpired men have aflumed do- minion over the faith of others, fetting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as fuch indeavoring to im- pofe them on others, hath eilabliflied and main- tained falfe religions over the greateft part of the world, and through all time ; that to compel a man to furnifh contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he difoelieves, is finful and tyrannical ; that even the forcing him to fupport this or that teacher of his own religious perfuafion, is depriving him. of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the paaticular paftor whofe morals he would make his pattern,, and whofe powers he feels mofl perfuafive to
<ii6 APPENDIX.
righteoufnefs, and Is withdrawing from tlie miniftry thofe temporal rewards, which proceed- ing from an approbation of their perfonal condud, are an additional incitement to earned and unre- mitting labors for the inftru<5tion of mankind ; that our civil rights have no dependance on our reli- gious opinions, more than our opinions, in phyiics or geometry ; that therefore the profcribing any citizen as unworthy th« public confidence by lay- inq- upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of null: and emolument, unlefs he profefs or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriv- ing him injurioufly of thofe privileges and advan-. tages to which in common with his fellow citizens he has a natural right ; that it tends alfo to cor- rupt the principles of that very religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing, Vv^ith a monopoly of worldly honors and emoluments, thofe who will externally profefs and conform to it ; that though indeed thefe are criminal who do not witliftand fuch temptation, yet neither are thofe innocent who lay the bait in their way ; that to fuffer the civil magiftrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to reftrain the profeffion or propaga- tion of principles, on fuppofition of their ill tend-, ency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once deftroys all religious hberty, becaufe he being of courfe judge of that tendency, will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the fentiments of others only as they (hall fquare with or diiFer from his ov/n ; that it is time enough for the rig^htful purpofes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into, overt afts againft peace and good order.; and.
APPENDIX. 317
finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herfelf, that {he is the proper and fufficient an- tagonift to error, and has nothing to fear from the confli<n:, unlefs by human interpofition difarmed. of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceafmg to be dangerous when it is permit- ted freely to contradid: them.
Be it therefore enad,ed by the General AJfemhlyy That no man fhall be compelled to frequent or fupport any religious worlhip, place or miniftry whatfoever, nor Ihall be enforced, reftrained, mo- lefted, or burthened in his body or goods, nor fhall otherwife fuffer on account of his religious opin- ions or belief; but that all men fhall be free to profefs, and by argument to maintain, their opi~ nions in matters of religion and that the fame fhall in no wife diminifh, enlarge, or affect their civil. capacities.
And though we well know that this afTemblya ele<5ted by the people for the ordinary purpofes of legiflation only, have no power to reltrain the adls of fucceeding affemblies, conftituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this adt irrevocable, would be of no effedt in law, yet we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby aiferted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any aft ihall be hereafter palled to repeal the prefent or narrow its opera- tion, fuch aft will be an infringement of natural right.
AH
APPENDIX
RELATIVE
TO THE
MURDER OF LOGAN's FAMILY^
ji Letter to Governor Henry ^ of Maryland,
Philadelphia, December 3iy?j 1779.
DEAR SIR,
MR. TAZEWELL has communicated t« me the enquiries you have been fo kind as to make, relative to a pafTage in the Notes on Virginia, which has lately excited fome newspaper publications. I feel, with great fenfibility, the intereft you take in this bufmefs, and with plea- lure, go into explanations with one whofe objeds I know to be truth and juftice alone. Had Mr. Martin thought proper to fuggeft to me, that doubts might be entertained of the tranfadion refpeaing Logan, as ftated in the Notes on Vir- ginia, and to enquire on what grounds that ftate- ment was founded, I fhould have felt myfelf oblig- ed by the enquiry, have informed him candidly of the grounds, and cordially have co-operated in every means of inveftigating the fa<5l, and correct- ing whatfoever in it fhould be found to have been erroneous. But he chofe to rtep at once into the newfpapers, and in his publications there and the letters he wrote to me, adopted a ftyle which for- Ixide the refpeCI: of an anfwer. Senfible, however, that no ad of his could abfolve me from the juftice due to others, as foon as I found that the ilory of Logan could be doubted, I determined t» ' Rr
32 2 APPENDIX.
enquire into it as accurately as tlie teflimony re- maining, after a iaple of twenty odd years, would permit, and that the refult fhould be made known, either in the firft new edition which fhculd be printed of the Notes on Virginia, or by publifhing an appendix. I thought that fo far as that work had contributed to impeach the memory of Crefap, by handing on an erroneous charge, it was proper it ihould be made the vehicle of retribution. Not that I was at all the author of the injury. I had only concurred, with thoufands and thoufands of others, in believing a tranfaelion on authority which' merited refpe6l. For the ilory of Logan is only repeated in the Notes on Virginia, precifely as it had been current for more than a dozen years before they were publifhed. When Lord Dunmore returned from the expedition againft the Lidiansj in i 774, he and his officers brought the fpeech of Logan, and related the circumftances conaected with it. Thefe v/ere fo affecting, and the fpeech itfelf is fo fine a morfel of eloquence, that it became the theme of every converfation, in WilliamPjurgh particularly, and generally, in- deed, wherefoever any of the officers refided or reforted. I learned it in Williamiburgh ; I be- lieve at Lord Dunmore's; and I find in my pocket-book of that year (1774) ^^ entry of the narrative, as taken from the mouth of fome per- fon, whofe name, however, is not noted, nor re- collected, precifely in the words dated ^ in the Notes on Virginia. The fpeech was publifhed in t!ie Virginia Gazette of that time (I have it my- fclfin tne volume of gazettes of that year) and though in a flyle by no means elegant, yet it was
APPENDIX. 323
fo admired, that it flew through all the public papers of the continent, and through the maga- zines and other periodical publications of Great- Britain ; and thofe who were boys at that day will now atteft, that the fpeech of Logan ufed to be given them as a fchool exercife for repetition. It was not till about thirteen or fourteen years after the newspaper publications, that the Notes on Virginia were publifhed in America. Com- bating, in thefe, the contumelious theory of cer- tain European writers, whof^ celebrity gave cui- rency and weight to their opinions, that our coun- try, from tlie combined effefts of foil and cHmate, degenerated animal nature. In the general, and particularly the moral faculties of man, I con- lidered the fpeech of Logan as an apt proof of the contrary, and ufed it as fuch ; and I copied, verbatim, the narrative I had taken down in 1774, and the fpeech as it had been given us in a better tranllatlon by lord Dunmore. I knew nothing of the Crefips, and could not poffibly have a motive to do them an Injury with defign. I repeated what thoufands had done before, on as good au- thority as we have for mod of the fa(5ls Vv^e learn through life, and fuch as, to this moment, I have feen no reafon to doubt. That any body queilion- ed It, v/as never fufped:ed by me, till I fav7 th^ letter of Mr. Martin In the Baltimore paper. I endeavored then to recolle<51: who among my co- temporaries, of the fame circle of fociety, and confequently of the fame recolledlons, migJit ft ill be alive. Three and twenty years of death and difperfion had left very few. I remembered, however, that general Gibfon was ftill living, and
524 APPENDIX.
knew that he had been the tranflator of the fpeech^ I wrote to him immediately. He, in anfwer^ declares to me, that he was the very perfon fent by lord Dunmore to the Indian town j that, after he had delivered his meffage there, Logan took, him out to a neighboring wood ; fat down with . him, and rehearfmg, with tears, the cataftrophe of ' his family, gave him that fpeech for lord Dun-; . more ; that he carried it to Lord Dunmore ; • tranflated it for him ; has turned to it in the Encyclopedia, as taken from the Notes on Virginia, and finds that it was his tranflation I had ufed, with only two or three verbal variations of no importance. Thefe, 1 fuppofe, had arifen in the courfe of fuccefTive copies. I cite general Gibfon's letter by memory, not having it with me ; but I am furc I cite it fubftantially right. It eftab,- lifhes unqueftionably, that the fpeech of Logan is genuine ; and that being eftabllfhed, it is Logan himfelf who is author of all the important fads. " Colonel Crefap," fays he, " in cold blood, and *' miprovoked murdered all the relations of Logan, "not fparing even my. women and children. <* There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins ** of any living creature." The perfon and the fad in all its material circumftances are here given by Logan himfelf.. General Gibfon, indeed, fays, that the title was miftaken ; that Crefap was a captain, and not a colonel. — This was Logan's jniftake. He alfo obferves, that.it was on the Ohio, and not on the Kanhaway itfelf, that his family was killed. This is an error which has crept into the traditionary account ; but furely of itttle moment ia the moral view of the fubjei^.
APPENDIX. 525-
The material queftion is ; was Logan*s family murdered, and by whom ? That it was murdered has not, I believe, been denied ; that it was by one of the Crdap's, Logan affirrns. This is a queftion which concerns the memories of Logan and Crefap ; to the iifue of which I am as indiff- . erent as if I had neyer: heard the name of either. I have begun and ihall continue to enquire Into the evidence additiorial to Logan's, on which the fact was founded. Little, indeed, can now be heard of, and that little difperfed and diftant. If - it fhall appear on enquiry, that Logan has been wrong in charging Crefap with the murder of his , family, I will do juftice to. the memory of Crefap . as far as I have contributed to the injury, by be- lieving and repeating what others had believed and repeated before me. If, on the other hand, I find that Logan was right in his charge, I will , vindicate, as far as my fuffrage may go, the truth of a chief, whofe talents and misfortunes have at- tached to him the refped and eommiferation of the : world.
I have gone, my dear Sir, into this lengthy de- . tail to fatisfy a mind, in the candor and reditude of which I have the higheft confidence. So far as you may incline to ufe the communication for redifying the judgments of thefe who are willing to fee things truly as they arc, you are free to ufe it. But I pray that no confidence which you may repofe in any one, may induce you to let it go out of your hands, fo as to get into a newf^ paper. Againft a conteft in that field I am en- tirely decided. I feel extraordinary gratification, indeed, in addrefling this letter to yo-u, with whom
■326 APPENDIX.
lliades of difference in political fentiments have not prevented the interchange of good opinion, nor cut off the friendly offices of fociety and good correfpondence. This political tolerance is the more valued by me, who confider focial harmony as the firft of human felicities, and the happieft moments, thofe which are given to the effufions of tiic heart. Accept them fniferely, I pray you, from one who has the honor to be, with fenti- ments of high refped and attachment, Dearftr,
7~our mojl obedient
And mojl huinlle fer'vant,
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
THE Notes on Virginia were written in Vir- ginia, in the years 1781 and 1782, in an- fwer to certain queries propofed to me by Mons. de Marbois, then fecretary of the French legation in the United States ; and a manufcript copy was delivered to him, _A fe^v copies, with fome addi- tions, were afterwards, in 1784, printed in Paris, and given to particular friends. In fpeaking of the animals of America, the theory of M. de Euf- fon, the Abbe Raynal, and others, prefented it- felf to confideration. They have fuppofed that there is fcmething in the foil, climate and other cir- cumftances of America, which occalions animal nature to degenerate not excepting even the man, native or adoptive, phyfical or moral. This the- ory, fo unfounded and degrading to one third of the globe, was called to the bar of £3.8: reafon. Among other proofs adduced in contradidion of this hypothefis, the fpeech of Logan an Indian chief, delivered to Lord Dunm.ore in 1774, was produced, as a fpecimen of the talents of the abo- riginals of this country, and particularly of their eloquence ; and it was believed that Europe had never produced any thing fuperior to this morfel of eloquence. In order to make it intelligible to the reader, the tranfadtion, on which it was found- ed, was dated, as it had been generally related in America at the time, and as I had heard it my- felf, in the circle of Lord Dunmore, and the offi- cers who accompanied him : and the fpeech itfelf was given as it had, ten years before the printing of that book, circulated in the newfpapers through all the then colonies, through the magafzines of
32S APPENDIX.
Great-Britain, and periodical publications of Eu- rope. For three and twenty years it pafTed un- contradicted ; nor was it ever fufpe<5led that It even admitted contradiction. In 1797 however, for the firfl time, not only the ' whole tranfadtion refpe6ting Logan was affirmed in the public pa- pers to be falfe, but the fpeech itfelf fuggefted to be a forgery, and even a forgery of ipine, to aid me In proving that the man of America was equal In body and in mind, to the man of Europe. ■But wherefore the forgery ? Whether Logan's or inlne, it would ftill have been American. I fhould indeed confult my own fame if the fuggef- tion, that this fpeech is mine, were fuffered to be believed. He would have a juft right to be proud who could with truth claim that compofitlon. But it is none of mine ; and I yield it to whom it is due.
On feeing then that this tranfadtion Vv^as brought anto queftion, I thought it my duty to make par- ■-ticular enquiry into its foundation. It was the mere my duty as It was alledged that, by afcrib- ing to an individual therein named, a participa- tion in the murder of Logan's family, I had done .an injury to his charafter which it had not deferv- . ed. I had no knowledge perfonally of that indi- vidual. I had no reafon to aim an injury at him. . I only repeated what I had heard from others, and what thoufands had heard and believed as well as myfelf ; and which no one indeed, till then, had been known to queftion. Twenty three years ■ had now elapfed, iince the tranfadlon took place. - Many of thofe- acquainted with it were dead, and
■APPENDi:^:. 329
tlie living difperfed to very diftant parts of the ■earth. Few of them , were even known to me. To thofe however of whom I knew I made appli- cation by letter ; and fome others, moved by a re- gard for trnth and juftice, were kind enough to come forward, ®f themfelves, with their teilim.ony. Thefe fragments of evidence, tlie fmall remains of a mighty mafs, which time h:is ccnfumxed, are here prefented to the public, in the form of letters, cer- tificates, or aflidavits, as they came to me. I have xejefred none of tliefe forms, nor required other fo'lemnities from tliofe whofe n:otIves and charac- ters v^-ere ] sledges of their truth. Hlftorical tranf- -nctions arc deemed to be well vouched by the fim- 3^1c dcclaiaticiis of thofe who have borne apart i:i -thorn ; and efpecially of perfons having no intereH to falilfy or disf jure them. The world will now i:c whether they, or I, have Injured Crefap, by bcllev-:r.g Logan's charge againll him : and they A\iil decide betv/een Logan and Crefap, whether Crefap wiis innocent and Logan a calumniator ?
In order that the reader may have a clear con- yception of the tranfac::ions, towhich the dilxbrent parts of the following declarations refer, he mull take notice that tlcy eilablilh four different mur- ders. I. Of t\7o Indians, a little above "Wheel* ing. 2. Of others at Grave Creel:, among whom were fome of Lccan's relations. _-. The miaflhcre at Baker's bottom, on the Ohio oppofite the mouth of Yellow cicek, v.-here were oLher relations of Logan. 4. Of thofe killed at the fim.e pLce, coming in their canoes to the reii--f of iheir friend*. S s
330 APPENDIX.
I place the numbers i, 2, 3, 4, agalnft certain parao-raphs of the evidence, to indicate tlie partic- ular murder to which the paragraph relates, and prefent alfo a fmall Iketch or map of the principle fcenes of thefe butcheries, for their more ready comprehenfion.
APPENDIX. 351
Es trail of a letter from the honor alle judge Innes of Frankfort in Kentucky to Thomas Jefferson; dated Kentucky, ^near Frankfort, March zd, 1799.
I recollect to have feen Logan's fpeech in 1775, in one of the public prints. That Logan con- ceived Creiap to be the author of the murder at Yellow creek, it is in my power to give, perhaps, a more particular information than any other per- fon you can apply to.
In 1774 I lived in Fincaftle county, now divid- ed into Wafhington, Montgomery and part of Wythe. Being intimate Vv^ith col. Prefton's family, I happened in July to be at his houfe, when an exprefs was fent to him as the county lieut. re- queuing a guard of the militia to be ordered out for the protedion of the inliabitants refidinsr low down on the north fork of Holfton River. The exprefs brought with him a war club, and a note which was left tied to it at the houfe of one Robertfon, whofe family were cut off by the In- dians, and gave rife for the application to col. Prefton, of which the following is a copy, then taken by me in my memorandum book. " Captain Crefap,
" What did you kill my people on Yellow creek " for ? The white people killed my kin, at Conef- *' tof^a, a great while ago ; and I thought noth- «< ing of that. But you killed my kin again, on <* Yellow creek, and took my coufm prifoner. « Then I thought I muft kill too j and I hav$
<< ^
332 APPEiTOir.
** been three times to war fmce ; but the Indlaijs " are not angry : only myfelf."
Captain JOHN LOGAN. July 2iJ!, 1^1 jj.
With great refpeS, I am^ Dear Sir,
your mojl ohecTient fer-vanty HARRY INNES.
AUeghnney County, Jf, 1
State of Pennfylvania. j" Before me the fubfcriber, a juftlce of the peace fti and for faid county, peifonally appeared John Gibfon, Efquire, an allociate judge of the fame county, who being duly fworn depofeth and faith that he traded with the Shawnefe and other tribes ©f Indians fthen fettled on tl»e Siota m the year 1775, and in the beginning of the year 1774, ^^'^^ that in the month of April of the fame year, ha left the fame Indian towns, and came to this place, in order to procure fome goods and provi- fions, that he remained here only a few days, and then fet out in company with a certain Alexander Blaine and M. Elliot by water to return to the towns on Siota, and that one evening as they were drifting in their canoes near the Long reacli on the Ohio, they were hailed by a number of white men on the fouth wefc Ihore, who requefted them to put aiiiore, as they had difagreeable news to.in- forrn them of; that Ave then landed on fhore j and io :;:J amongil the party, a major Angus l^/PDo-.^ld from Weft-Chefter, a Dodtor Woods irom fau:3 place, and a party as they faid of 150 jiien. We then jifl^ed the news. They informe.d »s that iom.^ of the party who had been taking up>
Appendix. 533r
'and improving lands near the Big Kanhaway Riv,- er, had icen another party of white men, who in- formed them that they and fome others had fell ia with a party of Shawnefe, who had been hunting^ on the fouth well fide, of the Ohio, that they liacl killed the whole of the Indian party, and that the others had gone acrofs die country to Cheat Riv- er with the horfes and plunder, the confequen'ce of which they apprehended would be an Indian v^ar^ and that they were flying away. On making en- quiry of them when this murder (liould have hap- pened, we found that it muft have been fome con? liderable time before, we left the Indian towns, and that there was not the fmallefl: foundation for the report, as there v/as not a iingle man of the Shawneie tribe, but what returned from hunting long before this fhould have happened.
We then hiformed them that -if they would agree to r^m.ain at the place we then were, one of us would go to Hock Kocking River with fome of theiy party, where we fhould lind fome of our peo- ple making canoeS;^ and that if we did not find them there, we might conclude tliat every thing was not right. Dodor Wood and another perfoa then propofed going with me ; the reif of the par- ty feemed to agree, but faid they would fend and confult captain Cref ip who was about two miles from that place.. They fent off for him, and dur- ing the greateft part of the night they behaved in the m.oft diforderly manner^ threatening to kill us- and faying the damned traders w;ere worfe than, the Indians, and ought to be killed. In the morn~ ing captain Michael Crefap came to the camp. I then gave him tlie information as above related.
J34. APPENDIX!;
They then met in council, and after an hour or more captain Crefap returned to me and informed that he could not prevail on them to adopt the propofal I had made to them, that as he had a great regard for captain R. Callender, a brother in law of mine with whom I was conneded in trade, he advifed me by no means to think of pro- ceeding any further, as hs was convinced the pref- fent party would fall on and kill every Indian they met on the river, that for his part he lliould not continue with them, but go right acrofs the country to Redftone to avoid the confequences* That we then proceeded to Hocking and went up the fame to the canoe place, where we found our people at work, and after fome days we proceed- ed to the towns on Siota by land. On our arrival there, we heard of the different murders commit- ted by the party on their way up the Ohio.
This Deponent further faith that in the year 1774, he accompanied lord Dunmore on the ex- pedition againft the Shawnefe and other Indians on their Siota, that on their arrtval within 15 Miles of the to\\Tis, they were met by a flag,^ and a white man of the name of Elliot, who informed lord Dunmore that the chiefs of the Shawnefe had fent to requeft his lordihip to halt his army ' and fend in fome perfon, who underftood their language; that this deponent, at the requeft of lord Dunmore and the whole of the officers with him, went in ; that on his arrival at the towns, Logan, the Indian, came to where this deponent was fitting with the Corn-Stock, and the other chiefs of the Shawnefe, and aiked him to walk out vith him 5 that they went into H copf« of wood>
APPENDIX.
535
•TK^iere they fat down, when Logan, after fhedding abundance of tears, delivered to him the fpeech, nearly as related by Mr. JefFerfon in his notes on the ftate of Virginia ; that he the deponent told him then that it was not col. Crefap who had murdered his relations, and that although his fon captain Michael Crefap was with the party who killed a Shawnefe chief and other Indians, yet he wras not prefent when his relations were killed at Bakers, near the moutli of Yellow creek on the Ohio : that this deponent on his return to camp delivered the fpeech to lord Dunmore ; and that the murders perpetrated as above were confidered ^s ultimately the caufe of the war of 1774, com- 3nonly called Crefap's war. Sivorn and fubfcrlbed the /\.th j^prll^ 1 1800, at Pittjhugh before me, J
JER. BARKER.
JOHN GIBSOK«
MxlraB of a letter from col EBENEZER ZANE, to the honorable ]01IN BROWN, one of the fenat- ors in Gongrefs from Kentucky ; dated Wheelings Feb. ^thy 1 800.
I was myfelf, with many others, in the pracllce of making improvements on lands upon the Ohio, for the purpofe of acquiring rights to the fame. Being on the Ohio at die mouth of Sandy creek, in company with many others, news circulated that the Indians had rolDbed fome of the land job- bers. This «ews induced the people generally to afcend the Ohio. I was amons; the number.
35^ APPENDIX.
1 On OTir arrival at the Wheeling, being infoilTied -that there were two Indians with fome traders near and above Wheelii":^, a propofition was made by the then captain Michael Crefap to way lay and kill the Indians upon the river. This mea- iiire I oppofed with much violence, alledging that the kilHng of thofe Indians might involve the country in a war. But the oppofite party pre- vailed and proceeded up the Ohio with captain •Crefap at their head.
In a fhort time the party returned, and alfothe 'traders, in a canoe ; but there were no Indians in the company. I enquired what had become of • the Indians, and was informed by the traders and Crefap's party that they had fallen overboard. I examined the canoe, and faw much frefh blood and fome bullet holes in the canoe. This fully convinced me that the party had killed the two Indians, and thrown them into the river.
2 On the afternoon of the day this aftion happen- ' ed, a report prevailed that there was a camp, or
party of Indians on the Ohio below and near the Wheeling. In confequence of this information, captain Crefap with his party, joined by a number of recruits, proceeded immediately down the Ohio ■ for the purpofe, as was then generally underftood, ofdeftroying the Indians above mentioned. On the fucceeding day, captain Crefap and his party returned to Wheeling, and it was generally re- ported by the-party that they had killed a num- ber of Indians. Of the truth of this report I had 110 doubt, as one of Crefap's party was badly 'v^'Ounded, and the party had a fi-eih fcalp, and a quantity of property, which they called Indian
APPENDIX. ^^y
p\u€\der. At the time of the hCi mentioned tranf- aaion, It was generally reported that the party of Indians down the Ohio Vvere Logan and his fami- ly ; but I have reafon to believe that this report was unfounded.
Within a few days after the tranfaflion above mentioned, a party of Indians were killed at Yel- low creek. But I muft do the memory of captain Crefap the juftice to fay that I do not believe that he was prefent at the killing of the IJidians at Yel- low creek. But there is not the leaft doubt in mj mind, that the maffacre at Yellow creek was brought on by the tv/o tranfadlions firft Rated.
All the tranfadiolis which I have related hap- pened in the latter end of April 1774 ; and there can fcarcely be a doubt that they were the caufe of the war which immediately followed, coiiimou- ly called Dunmore's war.
/ am with much ejleem,
TourSi <Jjc. EBENEZER ZANE.
The Certificate of WILLIAM HUSTON of IVqfJj'ington county, in the Jlate of Pennfyhamat ■ com^ munlcatedhy DAVID RID DICK, Efqulre, prothon- otary of JVaflmigton county^ Pennfyhanla ; <tvho m the letter inciofwg it fays '' Mr. WILLIAM IIUS- TON IS a man of efiahl'Jlied reputaiion in point of in- tegrity J*
I William Huflon of Wafliington county, in ■the ftate of Pennfylvania, do hereby certify to whom It may concern, that In tiie veai' 1^74 I re*
T T
^38- APPENDIX.
fided at CatHflics camp, on the main f)al4i from.- ■^^^leeilng to Redftone : that Michael Crefap, who refided on or near the Patowmac^ River, on hi? way up from the river Ohio,, at the head of a par- ty of armed men, lay fome time at my cabbin. 2 I had previoufly heard the report of Mr. Cre- fiD ha:ving killed {omc Indians, faid to be the re- lations of " Logan" an Indian Chief. In a vari- ety of converfation with feveral of Crefap's party, they boafted of thie deed ; and that in the prefence of their chief. They r-chnowledged they had fired firft on the Indians. They had with then% one man on -a litter, who was in the fkirmilh.
I do further certify that, from what I learned from the party themfelves, I then formed the opinion, and have not had any reafon to change tlie opinion hnce, that the killing, on the^ part of the whites, was what I deemed the grofeft mur- der.
3 I farther certify that fome of the party, who afterward5 killed fome women and other Indians at Bakers Bottom, alfo lay at my cabin, on their march to the interior parts of the country ; they had with them a little girl, whofe life had hc^n fpared by the interference of fome more bimarie than the re.ft. If necefTary I will mal:e affidavit" to the above to be true. Certified at Wafhington, this 1 8th day of Apiil, Anno Domnni, 1798.
V7ILLIAM HUSTON.
APPENDIX. 33$
,Tbe certificate of Jacob Newlamd, o/" Shtlliy county, Kentucky i communicated by the honoralle judge Junes, of Kenluchy,
liitlie year 1774, I lived on the watters of Short creek, a branch of the Ohio, 12 miles above "Wheeling. -Some time in June or July of that y^ear^.capt. Michael Crefap raifed a pdTty of men, and came an': under col. M'Daniel, of Hampfiiiro county, Virginia, who commanded a detachment againil the' Wappotommaka towns €u the Maik- inghum. ,1 met v/ith captain Crefap, at Redftonc fort, and entered his company. Being very well acquainted with him, we converfed freely ; and he among other converfitions, 2 informed me fev- cral times of faUiug in with forne Indians on the Ohio, fome diilance below the mouth of Yellov/ creek, and killed tvv'o or three of thena j 3 and that this murder U'as before that of the Indians by -Greathoufe and others, at Yellov.^ creek. I di)
. not recoiled the reafon which captain Crefap -af-* figned for committing the act, but never iinder- (lood that' the Indi,ims gave any offence. Certin-
. ed under my hand this 15th day of November, 1799). being an inhabitant of Shelby county, and State of ixenta^kv.
JACOB NEVv^LAND,
3*40 APPENDIX.
The smificale of JOHN ANDERSON, a merchcmt in Fretkrichjhurgy Virginia ; communicated by MdTin Page^ Ffq. of Mansfield, near Frederickjhurg, lu/jOf 171 the leiUr accompanying it, fays, " Jllr. yohn Anderfon has for many years pafl been fettled in Fnd^ichfburg, in the mercantile li^is. I have hnonvn him in profperous and adverfejttuatdons. He has always fhoivn thi greate^ degree of equanimity, hi: honefly and veracity are unimpeachable. Tkefe things can ie altefled by all the refpeElabh part of the foivn, and mighhorhood of Frederk^^urg/^
Mr. John Anderibn, a merchant in Frederiekf- hwcg, fays, that in the year I774> being a trader in the Indian country, he was at Pittlbargh to which place he had a cargo brought up the river in a boat navigated by a Delaware Indian and a wr/ite man. i That on their return down the "It-iver, with a cargo, belonging to MeiTrs. Butler, Michael Crefiip fired on the boat, and killed the Indian, 5 after wliich two men of the name of Gatewood and others of the name of *Tumble- ftone, who lived on the oppofite fide of tlie river from the Indians, with whom they were on the mod fri^dly terms, invit«d a part}^ of them to ©ome over and drink with them ; and that, whea the Indians were drunk, they murdered them to the number of fix, among whom was Logan's mother. 4 That hve other Indians uneafy at the
* The popular proimnciatiin of Tomllnfouj ivhk '^jj ths r^al name,.
APPENDIX. 54.r
abfance of their friends, came over the river to. enquire after them ; when they were fired upon, and two were killed, and the others wounded-. This was the origin of the war.
I certify the above to be true to the beft of my recc]le(5tion.
JOHN ANDERSON. Atteft. DAVID BLAIR, 30th June, 1798.
The depofit'ion ^ James Chambers, cornmunicatal by
David Riadicky Efq. prothonotary of Wajlj'mgton
county y Pennfyliyaniay ivho hi the letter enclofing 14
Jheivs that he entertains the mojl perfcd conjidcnce in
the truth o/" Mr . C H A M b e R s .
^ Walhington county, fc.
Perfonally came before me Samuel Shannon, Efq.^ one of the commonwealth jiiftices for the county of Wafhington in the ftate of Pennfylvania, James Chambers, who being fworn according to law, de- pofeth and faith that in the fpring of the year 1774, he refided on the frontiers near Baker's bot- tom on the Ohio : that he liad an intimate com- panion, with whom he fometiraes lived,^ named '* Edward King :'* 2 That a report reached him that Michael Crefap had killed fome Indians near Grave creek, friends to an Indian known by the name of " Logaji :" 3 That other of his friends following down the river, having received intelli- gence, and fearing to proceed, left Crefap might* fall in with them, encamped near the mouth of Yellow creek, oppofite Baker's bottom ; that Dan- iel Greathoufe had deterjiiin«d to kill tliem i had
542 APPENDIX.
made the fecret knovm to the deponent's compan- ion, King ; that the deponent was earneftly foli- cited.to be of.ths party, and, as an inducement, was told that they would get a great deal of plun- der ; and further, that the Indians would be made drunk by Baker, and that little danger would fol- low .the .expedition. The deponent refufed to have any hand in killing unoiicnding people. His com- panion, King, went witli :Greathoufe, with' divers oth^^rs, forae of whom had been colleded at a con- fid;;rable diftance under an idea thatjofliua Ba- ker's family was in danger frOm the^ Indians, as war had been commenced betVv^een Crefap and Vnem already ; that Edward King, as well lis oth- ers of the party, did not conceal from the depo- nent the moft minute circumflances of this affair ; they informed him that Greathoufe concealing hi* people, went over to the Indian encampments and counted their number, and found that they were too large a party to attack with his ftrength : that he then requefted Jofhua Baker, when any of them came to hishoufe, (which they had be«n in tlje - habit -of) to give them what rum they could drink, and to let him know when they v/ere in a proper train, and that he would then fall on them : that accordingly they found feveral men and two wo- men at Baker's houfe ; that one of thefe women "had cautioned Greathoufe, when over in the In- dian camp, that he had better return home, as the Indian men were drinking, and that having lieard ' of Crefap's attack on their relations down the riv- er, they were angry, and, m a friendly manner, told him to go home. Greathoufe, with his par- ty, fell on them, and killed all eacept a little girl
APPENDIX. 345,
■v/hlch the deponent faw with the party after the ilaughter ; 4 that the Indians in the camp hearing the firing, manned two canoes, fuppohng their friends at Baker's to be attacked, as was fuppofed: the party under Greathoufe prevented their land- ing by a well dire6l:ed lire, which did execution in the canoes ; that Edward King iliewed the depon- ent one of the fcalps.-r-The deponent further faith, that the fettlements near the river, broke- up, and he the deponent immediately repaired to Catnfh's cr.mp, and lived feme time v/ith Mr. William Hufton ; that not long after his arival, Grefap, 'vvitli his party, returned from the Ohio, came to Mr. HuPion's and tarried fometime : 2 that in vari-. ous converfations with the party^^and in particu- lar with a Mr. Sm.iihj who had one arm only, he was told that the Indians were acknowledged and known to be Logan's friends which they had killed, and that he heard the party fay, that Logan would probably avenge their deaths.
They acknowledged that the Indians paffed Crefap's encampment on the bank cf the river in a peaceable manner, and encamped below him ;
2 that they went down and fired on the Indians, and killed feveral ; that' the furvivors fiew to their arms and fired on Crefap, and wounded one man, whom the deponent faw caiTied on a litter by the party ;
3 that the Indians killed by Crefap were not only Logan's relations, but of the women killed at Ba- ker's, one was faid and generally believed to be Logan's filler. The deponent further faith, that on the relation of the attack by Crefap on the un- offending Indians, he exclaimed in their hearing, that it was an atrocious murder : on which Mr.
3H . , APPENDIX.
Smith tlireatened the deponent with the toma- hawk ; fo tliat he was obliged to be cautious,/ fearing an injury, as the party appeared to have loft, in a great degree, fentiments of humanity as well as the effects of civilization. Sworn and fub- fcribed at Waftiington, the 2ctli day of April, anno Domini 1798.
JAMES CHAMBERS. before Samuel Shaanoit.
Wajljington eomdyife,
I, David Riddick, prothonotary of the court of common pleas, for the county of Waflilngton, in the ftate of Pennfyivania, do cer- tify, that Samuel Shannon, Efq. before whom the within afHdaTit was made, was, at the time there- of, and ftill fs, a juftice of the peace in and for the county of Waftiington aforefaid ; and that fall credit is due to all his judicial afts as fuch as well in. courts of juftice as thereout.
In teftimony whereof I have hereuntiP fet my hand and affixed the feal of my office at Waftiington, the 26th day of April, Anno Dommini 1798.
. DAVID RIDDICK.
APPENDIX. 545
Th: certificate of Charles Polke, of Shelhy county, in Kentucky i communicated by the hon. judge Innes, of Kentucky, who in the letter inclofing it, together ivith Ncivland's certificate, and his own declaratioti of the information given him by Baker, fays, « I am •well acquainted with Jacob Newland, he is a man of integrity. Charles Polke and Jojhua Baker loih fupport rcfpeBable characters'^
About the latter end of April or beginning of May 1774, I lived on the waters of Crofs creek, about 16 miles from Jolliua Baker, who lived on the Ohio, oppofite, the mouth of Yellow creek. 3 A number of perfons colle(5ted at my houfe, and proceeded to the fald Baker's and murdered fev- eraHndians, among whom was a woman faid to be the frfter of the Indian chief Logan. The principal leader of the party was one Daniel Greathoufe. To the bed of my recolle(51ion the caufe which gave rife to the murder was, a gene- ral idea-^that the Indians were meditating an at- tack on the fi-ontiers. capt. Michael Crefap was not of the party ; 2 but I recoiled that fome time before the perpetration of the above fadt It was currently reported that capt. Crefap had murder- ed fome Indians on the Ohio, one or two, fome: dillance below Wheelino-.
Certified by me, an Inhabitant of SJielbv coun- ty and ftate of Kentucky, this ijtii day of Novem>^ ber, 1799.
CHARLES POLKE. U u
346 APPENDIX.
The dedaraitoh of the honorable Judge Ihnes, cf Frankforti in Kentuchy.
On the 14th of November, 1799, I accidentally niet upon the road Jofhua Baker, the perfon refer- red to in the certificate figned by Polke, 3 wha informed me that the murder of the Indians in 1774, opP^^'^^^ the mouth of Yellow creek, was perpetrated at his houfe by 32 men, led on by Daniel Greathoufe ; that 12 were killed and 6 or 8 wounded ; among the flain was a fifter and oth- er relations of the Indian chief Logan. Baker fays captain Michael Crefap was not of the party ; I that fome days preceding the murder at his houfe, two Indians left him and were on their way home ; that they fell in with captain Creflip and ii party of land improvers on the Ohio, and were murdered, if not by Crefap himfelf, with his ap- probation ; he being the leader of the party, atid that he had the information from Crefap.
HARRY INNES.
The declaration of V^ 11.1.1 ii'si Robikson'.
William Robinfon, of Clarkfourg, in the county of Harrifon, and (late of Virginia, fubfcriber to "^ thefe prefents, declares that he was, in the year I 774, a refident on the weft fork of Monongahela River, in the county then called Weft Augufta, and being in his field on the 12th of July, with two other men, they were furprifed by a party of eight Indians, who faot down one of the others and made himfelf and the remaining one prifoners i
APPENDIX. 547
this rabfcnber's wife and four children having been previouily conveyed by him for fafety to a fort about 24 miles off; that the principal Indian of the party who took them was captain Logan ; that Logan fpoke Englifh well, and very foou manifefted a friendly difpofition to this fubfcribei , and told him to be of good heart, that he v/culd not be killed, but mull go with him to his town^ where he would probably be adopted in fome of their families ; but above, all things that he muft not attempt to run away ; that in the courfe of the journey to the Indian town he generally en- deavored to keep clofe to Logan, who had a great deal of converfation with him, always encouracr. ing him to be cheerful and without fear fear that he v/ould not be killed, but Ihould become one of them ; and conftantly impreffing on him not to attempt to run away ; that in thefe converfations he always charged capt. Michael Crefap with the murder of his family : that on his arrival in the town, which was on the iSth of July, he was tied to a (lake, and a great debate arofe whether he fiiould not be burnt : Logan infilling on having him adopted, while others contended to burn liim : that at length Logan prevailed, tied a belt of wam- pum round him as a mark of adoption, loofed hini from the poft and carried him to the cabin of an old fquaw^, where Logan pointed out a perfon who he faid was this fubfcriber's coufm ; and h« after- wards under flood that the old woman was his aunt, and two others his. brothers, and that he now flood in the plate of a warrior of the family who had been killed at Yellow creek : that about three days i^ter this Logan -brouglit him a piece of pa^
34^ APPENDIX.
per, arxd told him he muft write a letter for hiiriy which he meant to carry and leave in fome houfe v/here he ilioiild kill fomebody ; that he made ink with gmipowder, and the fubfcriber proceeded to write the letter by his dire<5tion, addreffing capt. Michael Crefap in it and that the purport of It was, to afk *' why he had killed his people ? That fome time before they had killed his people at fome place (the name of which the fobfcriber for- gets) which he had forgiven ; but fmce that he iiad killed his people again at Yellow creek, and taken his coufm, a little girl, prifoner ; that there-^ fore he mufl: war againft the whites ; hut that he would exchange the fubfcriber for his coiifm.'^ And figned it with Logan's name, which letter Logan took and fet out again to war ; and the contents of this letter, as recited by the fubfcriber^ calling to mind that ftated by judge Innes, to liave been left tied to a war club, ia a houle where ■a family was murdered, and that being read ta the fubfriber, he recognifes it, and declares he ve- rily l)elieves it to have been the identical letter which he wrote, and fuppofes he was miftaken in ftating as he had done before from memory, that the offer of the exchange was propofed in the let- ter ; that It is probable it was only promifed him by Logan, but not put in the letter ; 3 that while he was with the old woman, fhe repeatedly en- deavored to make him fenfible that (lie had been inf the party at Yellow creek, and, by figns, fliew- ei how they decoyed her friends over the river to drink, and when they were reeling and tumbling about, tomahawked them all, and that whenever ibe entered on this fubjedt fhe was thrown into the
APPENDIX. 349
mofl violent agitations, and that lie aftervi^ards underflood that, amongft the Indians killed at Yellow creek, was a fifter of Logan very big with child, whom they ripped open, and ftuck on a pole : that he continued with the Indians till the month of November, when he was releafed in confequence of the peace made by them with lord Dunmore : that, while he remained with them, the Indians in general were very kind to him ; and efpecially thofe who were his adopted rela- tions ; but above all, the old woman and family in which he lived, who ferved him with every thing in their power, and never afked, nor even luffered him to do any labor, feeming in truth to confider and refped: him, as the friend they had loft. All which feveral matters and things, fo far as tliey are Rated to be of his own knowledge, th»s fubfcriber folemnly declares to be true, and fo far as they are ftated on information from oth- ers he believes them to be true. Given and de- clared under his hand at Philadelphia, this 28th day of February, 1800.
WILLIAM ROBINSON.
The depofilton of col. William M^ Kee^ of IJncoIn county, Kmtncky, communicated hy the honorable yohn Brown J out of the Senators in Congrefs from Ken- tucky,
Colonel William M'Kee of Lincoln county de- clareth, that in autumn 1774, he commanded as a captain in the Eottetourt Regiment under col. Andrew Lewis, afterwards gen. Lewis ; an^
350 APPENDIX.
fought in the battle at the mouth of Kanhaway, . on the loth of Odober in that year. That after the battle, col. Lewis naarched the militia acrofs the Ohioj and proceeded towards the Sha,wnee towns OA Siota ; but before they reached the towns, lord Dunmore, who was commander m chief of the army, and had, with a large party thereof, been up the Ohio about Hockhocking, . when the battle was fought, overtook the militia, and informed them of his having nnce the battle concluded a treaty whh the Indians ; u}X)n Vv:-hicli the whole army returned.
And the faid William declareth that, on the evening of that day on which the junclion of the troops took place, he v/as in company with lord, Dunmore and f^veral of his officers, and alfo con- verfed with feveral who had been with lord Dun- more at the treaty ; faid William, on that evening, heard repeated converfation concerning an extra- ordinary fpeech m.ade at the treaty, or fent there by a chieftain of the Indians named Logan, and heard feveral attempts at a rehearfal of it. The fpeech as rehearfed excited the particular attention of faid William, and the mod ftriking members of it were impreiTed on his memory.
And he declares that when Thomas J.efrerfon's Notes on Virginia were publifhed, and he came to perufe the fame, he was (Iruck witli tlie ipeech of Logan as there fet forth, as being fiibif antially the fame, and accordant with the fpeech he heard rehea,rf?cl iii the camp as aforefaid. Signed,
WIX,X.IAM M'KEE,
Al^PENDIX.
Kl
Danville, December i8th, 179^. IVe certify that col, WiKiarn M^ Kee this day .figned the original cerfificate, of nvhlch the foregoing is a true copy, in our prefence.
JAMES SPEED, Juii.
J. H. dewe:5s.
the certificate of the hon. STEVENS THOMPSON MASON -> one of the Senators in Congrefs from the State of Virginia. ** LOGAN s fpeech, delivered at the treaty , after the
lattle in tvhich col. LEWIS tuas killed in 177^."
[Here follows a copy of the fpcech agreeing verbatim with that printed in Dixon and Hun- ter's Virginia Gazette of February 4, 1775, un- der the William fburgh head, at the foot is this certificate.]
" The foregoing is a copy taken by me, when a boy, at fchool, in the year 1775, or at fartheft in 1776, and lately found in an old poclcet-book, containing papers and manufcripts of that peri- od."]
STEVENS THOMPSON MASON,
January 20th, 1798.
A copy of LOGAN^s fpeech given ly the late general MERCER, who fell in the battle of Trenton, Jan- uary, I'j'jG, to lewis Willi s, Efquire, of Fred- erickjhurgh, in Virginia, upwards of 20 years ago, (from the date of February, 1798,^ communicated through MANN PAGE, Efquire.
« The SPEECH of LOGAN, a Shawanefe chief, to lord Dunmore/'
352 APPENDIX.
[Here follows a copy of the fpeecli, agreeing verbatim with that in the Notes on Virginia, j
A copy cf LOGAN'S SPEECH from the Notes on Virginia having been fent to captain ANDREW RODGERS of Kentucky, he fub- joined the following certificate.
In the year 1774 I went out with the Virginia volunteers, and was in the battle at the mouth of Canhawee, and afterwards proceeded over thi Ohio to the Indian towns. I did not hear Logan Tnake the above fpeech ; but, from the unanimous account of thofe in camp, I have reafon to think that faid fpeech was delivered to Dunmore. I remember to have heard the very things contained in the above fpeech, related by fome of our peo- ple in camp at that time.
ANDREW RODGERS.
The dsclarat'ion of Mr. john hecke welder, for feveral years a m'ljfionary froyn the fociety of Mora' vianSf among the ivejlern Indians,
In the fpring of the year 1774, at a time when the interior part of the Indian country all feemcd peace and tranquil, the villagers on the Muilcin- ghum were fuddenly alarmed by two runners (In- dians',) who reported " that the Big Knife, (Vir- ginians) had attacked the Mingo fettlement on the Ohio, and butchered even the women with their children in their arms, and that Logan's family were among the (lain." A day or two af- ter this, feveral Mingoes made their appearance ; among whom were one or two wounded, -wha
APPENDIX. ^^^^
had in this 5Tianner efFedled their efcape. Exaf- perated to a high degree, after rehiting the partic- ulars of this tranfaaion, (which for humanity's fake I forbear to mention,) after reding fome time on the treachery of the Big Knives, of their bar- barity to thofe who arc their friends, they gave a figurative defcription of the perpetrators ; named Crefap as having been at the head of this murder- ous act. They made mention of nine bein^o- kil- led, and two wounded ; and were prone to take revenge on any perfon of a white color ; for which reafon the miffionaries had to fhut themfelves up during their (lay. From this time terror daily increafed. The exafperated friends and relations of thefe murdered v/omen and children, with the nations to whom they belonged, pafTed and re- paiTed through the villages of the quiet Delaware towns, in fearch of white people, making ufe of the moft abufive language to thefe (the Dela- ■vvares,) fmce they would not join in taking re- venge. Traders had either to hide themfelves, or try to get cut of the country the beft way they could. And even, at this time, they yet found fuch true friends among the Indians, who, at the rifk of their own lives, condu(5led them, with the befl; part of their property, to Pittfburg ; although, (fhameful to relate !) thefe benefactors were, ^on their return from this miffion, ivayla'id, and fired upon by whites, while crofling Big beaver in a canoe, and had one man, a Shawanefe, named Silverheels, (a man of note in his nation) -^vound- ed in the body. This exafperated the Shawanefe fo much, that they, or at leaft a great part of W w
354 APPENDIX.
them, immediately took an aaive part in the canfe ; :ind the Mhigoes, (neareft co-nnefted with the for- mer,) becanie unbounded in their rap;e. ^ A Mr- Tones, fon to a refpeaable family of this neigh- horhood (Bethlehem,) who was then on his paf- iao-e up Mu&inghum, with two other men, was fortunately cfpied by a friendly Indian woman, ?.t the falls of MufKinghum, who through motives r,f humanity alone, informed Jones of the nature of the time's, and that he was running right in the hands of the enraged ; and put him on the way, where he might perhaps efcape the vengeance of the drolling parties. One of Jones's men, fatigu- ed by travelling in the woods declared lie would rather die than remain longer in this fituation ; and liitting accidentally on'a path, he determined to follow the fame. A few hundred yards decide ed his fate. He was met by a party of about iif- teen Mingoes, (and as it happened almoft within fi^o-ht of White Eyes town,) murdered, and cut to pi'^eces ; and his limbs and flefti Truck upon the bulhes. White Eyes on hearing .the Scalp halloo, ran immediately out with his men, to fee what the matter was ; and finding the mangled body in this condition, gathered the whole and buried it. But next day when fomc of the above party found on their return the body interred, they iiv ilantly tore up the ground, and endeavored to ■ deftrov, or fcatter about, the parts at a greater diCtance. White Eyes, with the Delawares, watching their motions, gathered and interred the lam.e a fecond time. The war party finding this out, ran furioufly into the Delaware village, ex- claiming agalnft tke condua of tliefe people, fe^
APPENDIX. 3515
ting forth the cruelty of Crefap towards women and children, and declaring at the fame time, that they would, in confequence of this cruelty, fervc every white man they Ihould meet with in the fame manner. Times grew worfe and worfe, war parties went out and took fcalps and prifoners, and the latter, in hopes it might be of fervice in faving their lives, exclaimed againil the barbarous acT: which gave rife to thefe troubles, and againft tlie perpetrators. The name of Greathoufe was mentioned as haviug been an accomplice to Cre- fap. So deteftable became the latter name amono- the Indians that I have frequently heard them ap- ply it to the worH: of things ; alfo in quieting- or ftilling their children, I have heard them ^fjy, Huili ! Crefap will fetch you ; whereas otherwi/e, they name the ov/1. The warriors having after- wards bent their couile more toward the Ohio, and down the fame, peace feemed with us alreadv on the return ; and this became the cafe foon after the decided battle fought on the Kanhaway. Tra- ders, returning now into tlie Indian country again, related the ftory of the above mentioned malfacre, after the fame manner, and ivith the fame tuorcf^, we have heard it related hitherto. So the report re- mained and was beheved, by all who refided i;i the Indian country. So it was reprefentcd num- bers of times, in the peaceable Delaware towns, by the enemy. So the chriftian Indians were continually told they would one day be ferved. With thh- imprellion, a petty chief hurried all the way from Wabalh in 1779 to take his relations (who were living with the peaceable Delawares near Colhachking,) out of the reach of the Big,
356 APPENDIX.
knives, in whofe friendiliip he never more wouM place any conlidence. And when this man found that his numerous relations, would not break friendfiiip with the Americans, nor be removed, he took two of his relations (women) off by force, faying " The whole crop lliall not be deftroyed ; I will have feed out of it for a new crop :" allud- ing to, and repeatedly reminding thefe ot the family of Logan, who, he faid, had been real fiiends to the whites, and yet were cruelly mur- dered by them.
In Detroit, where I arrived the fame fpring, llie report refpefting the murder of the Indians on Ohio (amongil wliom was Logan's fiimiiy) was the fame as related above ; and on my return to the United States in the fall of 1786, and from tlint time, whenever and wherever in my prefence, tiiis fubject was the topic of converfation, I found tlie report ftill the fime ; 'vrz. that a perfon bear- ing the .name of Creiap, was the author or perpe- trator of tliis deed.
Logan was the fecond fon of Sliikellemus, a celebrated chief of the Cayuga nation. This chief, on account of his attachment to the Eng- l:Ih government, was of great fervice to the coun- try, having the confidence of all the Six nations as well as that of the Englifli, he was very ufefulT in lettling difputes, &c. Sec. Pie was highly ef- leemed by Conrad Weilfer, Efq. (an officer for irovcrr.rnent in the Indian department,) with whom he a'fted conjundly, and was faithful unto his death. His refidence was at Shamokin, where he took great delight in adls of hofpitality to fuch of the white people w^iofe bufmefs led them \hdt:
APPENDIX. 357
way.*" His name and fame were fo high on re- cord^ that count Zinzendorf, when, hi this country m 1742, became deiircus of feeing him, and adu- ally vifited him at his houfe in Sliamokln.f About the year 1772, Logan was introduced to me, by an Indian friend; as fon to the late reputable chief Shikellemus, and as a friend to the white people. In the courfe of converfation, I thought him a man of fuperior talents, than Indians gene- rally were. The fubjed turning on vice and im- morality, he confeifed his too great ftiare of this,, efpecially his fondnefs for hquor. He exclaimed againft the white people, for impofnig liquors up- on the Indians ; he otherwife admired their inge- nuity ; fpoke of gentlemen, bjiU obferved that tlie- Indians unfortunately had but few of thefe as. their neighbors, Sec. He fpoke of his friendfhip to the white people, wiihed. always to be a neigh- bor to them, intended to fettle on the Ohio, below Big Beaver ; was (to the bell of my recollection) • then encamped at the mouth of this river, (Beav- er,) urged me to pay him a vifit, &c. Note. 1 was then living in the Moravian Tovvm on this river, in the neighborhood of Cufkulkee. In April 1773, while on my pafTage down the Ohio- for Mufkinghum, I called at Logan's fettlement ; where I received every civility I could expe<51: from fuch of the family as were at home.
* Thi; preceedlng account of Shikellemus^ (Logaii's father) is coped from man ufcrlpts of the Rev. C. Pyr- loceus, 'written between the years ij^l^ and 174^*
f See G. H. HojTiel's hijlory of the M'lfton of the United Brethren, ^c. Part I L Chap. IL Page 31.
^S^ APPENDIX.
Indian reports concerning Logan, after tlie death of his family, ran^ to this ; that he exerted himfelf during the Shawnee war (then fo called) to take all the revenge he could, declaring he had loll all confidence in the white people. At the time of negociation, he declared his reludance ia laying down the hatchet, not having (in his opin- ion) yet taken ample fatisfatSlion ; yet, for the fake of the nation, he would do it. His expref- fions, from time to time, denoted a deep melan- choly. Life (laid he) had become a torment to him: he knew no more what. pleai'ure was : He thought it had been better if he had never exifted,. Scc. occ. Report further ilates, that he became in fome meafure delirious, declared he would kill himfelf, went to Detroit, drank very freely, and did not feem to care what he did, and what be- came of himfelf. In this condition he left De- troit, and, on his way between that place and Mi- ami, was murdered. In Oftober, 1781, (while as prifoner on my way to D'etroit,) I was fhown the ipot where this fhall have happened. Having had an opportunity fuice lail June of feeing the Rev. David Zeiiberger, fenior, mifiionary to the Dela- ware nation of Indians, who had refided among the fame on the Muficinghum, at the time Avhen the murder was committed on the family ofLo-- gan, I put the following queftions to him. i. Who he underftood it was that had committed the mur- der on Logan's family ? And fecondly, whether he had any knowledge of a fpeech fent to lord Dunmore by Logan, in confequence of this affair, &c. To which Mr. Zeifbcrger's anf^ver was;. That he liad,,from that time when this murder
APPENDIX . 359
was committed to the prefent day, firmly believed the common report (which he had never heard contradicted, viz. that one Crefap v/as the author of the mafTacre ; or that it was committed by his orders : and that he had known Logan as a boy, frequently feen him from that time and doubted not in the leaft, that Logan had fent fuch a fpeech to lord Dunmore on this occ^fion, as he under- ftood from me had been publilhed ; that expref- fions of that kind from Indians were familiar to him ; that Logan in particular, was a man of quick comprehenfion, good judc^ment and talents. Mr. Zeifberger has been a miffionary upwards of fifty years; his age is about eighty; fpeaks both the language of "the Oaondagoes and the Dela- wares ; refides at prefent on the Mufliinghum., •with his Indian congregation ; and is beloved and refpeCled by all who are acquainted with him.
JOHN HECKEWELDER.
jFrom this teftlmojiy the foUoivwg h'ljlorical fiaiement refults :
In April or May 1774, a number of people be- ting engaged in looking out for fettlements on the -Ohio, information Vv\as fpread among them, that the Indians had robbed fome of the latid-johhers., as .thofe adventures v/ere called. Alarmed for their iafety, they coileded together at Wheeling creek. ^Hearing that there were two Indians and fome traders a little above Wheeling, captain Michael vCrelap, one of the party, propofed to waylay and 3cill them. The propofition, though oppofed, was
ifl murder of the t'wo Indians ly Crefap,,
56o APPENDIX.
adopted. A party went up tlie river, with Crefap at their head, and killed the t\vo Indians.
*The fame afternoon it was reported that there was a party of Indians on the Ohio, a little below Wheeling-. Crefap and his party immediately proceeded down the river, and encamped on the bank. The Indians pafTed him peaceably, and encamped at the mouth of Grave creek, a little below. Crefap and his party attacked tliem , and killed feveral. The Indians returned the fire, and wounded one of Crefap' s party. Among the flain of the Indians were fomxe of Logan's family. Colonel Zane indeed expreffes a doubt of it ; but it is affirmed by Hufton and Chambers. Smith, one of the murderers, fiid they were known and acknowledged to be Logan's friends, and the par- ty themfelves generally faid {o : boafted of it in prefence of Crefap ; pretended no provocation ; and expreiTed their expe<5lations that Logan would probably avenge their deaths.
-j-Purfiiing thefe exarrrples, Daniel Greathcufc and one Tomlinfon, who lived on the oppofite fide of the river from the Indians, and were in habits of friendfliip with them, colledled at the houfe of Polke on crofs creek, about i6 miles from Baker's Bottom a party of 32 men. Their objeft was to attack a hunting encampment of Indians, confift- ine of men, v/omen and children, at the mouth of Yellow creek, fome diftance above Wheeling. — They proceeded, and when arrived near Baker's Bottom, they concealed themfelves, and Great-
* 2d murder on Grave creei. f Mafncrs at Baker'' s Bottom oppofite Tdloiu creel^ ij Greathoufe*
houfe crofTed the river to the Indian camp. Being among them as a friend, he counted them, and found them to ftrong for an open attack witli his^ force. While here, he was cautioned by one or the women not to ftay, for that the Indian men were drinking, and having heard of Crefap's mur- der of their relations at Grave creek, were angry,, and fhe prefied him, in a friendly manner, to go home ; whereupon, after inviting them to come over and drink, he returned to Baker's, which was a tavern, and defired that when any of them jQiould come to his houfe he would give them as much rum as they w^ould drink. When his plot was ripe and a fufficient number of them were collected at Baker's, and intoxicated, he and his party fell on them and maiTacred the whole, ex- cept a little girl, whom they preferved as a prifon- er. Among thefe was the very woman who had faved his life, by prefling him to retire from the drunken wrath of her friends, when he was fpying their camp at Yellow creek. Eitlier fhe herfelf, or fome other of the murdered women, was the fifter of Logan, very big with child, and inhumanly and mdecently butchered ; and there v/ere otiiers of his relations who fell there.
*The party on the other fide of die river, alarm- ed for their friends at Baker's, on hearing the re- port of the guns, manned two canoes and fent them over. They were received as they approached the Ihore, by a well dire<51ed hre from Greathoufe's party, which killed fome wounded others, and obliged the reft to put back. Baker tells us there- were twelve killed, and fix or eight wounded.
*4^ murder by Greathonfe,
X 3t
3^3 APPENDIX.
This commenced the war, of which Logan^S' warcliib and note left in the houfe of a murderecf family, was the notification. In the courfe of it, during the enfuing fummer, great numbers of in- nocent men, women and children, fell vi6lims to- the tomakawk and fcalping knife of the Indians, till it was arrefted in the autumn following by the battle at Point-pkafant and as the pacification with lord Dunmore, at which the fpeech of Logan was delivered.
Of the genuinenefs of that fpeech nothing need be faid. It was known to the camp where it was delivered : it was given out by lord Dunmore and his officers ; it ran through the public papers ot' thefe dates ; was rehearfed as an exercife at fchools ; publifned in the papers and periodical works of Europe ; and all this, a dozen years be- fore it was copied into the Notes on Virginia. In line gen. Gibfon concludes the queflion for ever, by declaring tliat he received it from Logan's hand, delivered it to lord Dunmore, tranflated it for him, and that the copy in the Notes on Virginia is a faithful copy.
The popblar account of thefe tranfaclions, as ftated in the Notes on Virginia, appears on collec- ting exact information, imperfecl and erroneous in its details. It was the belief of the day ; but how far its errors were to the prejudice of Crefap tlie reader will now judge. That he and thofe under him, murdered tvv'^o Indians above Wheeling : that thev murdered a larger number. at Grave creek, amonoj whom v^'ere a part oi the tamiiy and relations of Lograi, cannot be queftioned ; and as little that this led to the maiTacre of the reft of the family at Yellow creek, Logan imputed the
APPENDIX.
363
^yhole to Crefap in his war-note and peace-fpeech ; the Indians generally imputed it to Crefao : Lord Dunmore and his oiTicers imputed it to' Crefap : the country with one accord imputed it to him : and whether he were innocent let the univerfal ver- dict now declare.
364 APPENDIX.
The declaration of John Sappi1«gton, received after the publication of the preceding Appendix.
,/, JoH"N Sappingtov, declare myfelf to be intimately acnua'tnted with all the circumjlances refpeBing the dejlriici'ion of Logan's family, and do give in the fol- lonving narrative a true flatement of that affair. Logan's family (if it was his family) was not ■killed bv Crefap, nor with his knowledge, nor by his confent, but by the Greathoufes and their alfoci- ates. They w^ere killed 30 miles above Wheeling, near the mouth of Yellow creek. Logan's camp was on one fide of the river Ohio, and the houfe, where the murder was committed, oppofite to it on the other fide. They had encamped tliere on- ly four or hve days, and during that time had liv- ed peaceably and neighborly with the w^hites on the oppofite fide, until the very day the affair hap- pened. A little before the period alluded to, let- ters had been received by the inhabitants from a man of great influence in that country, and who was then I believe at Capteener, informing them that war was at hand, and defiring them to be on their guard. In confequence of thefe letters and other rumours of the fame import, almoft all the inhabitants fled for fafety Into the fettlements. It was at the houfe of one Baker the murder was com- niitted. Baker was a man who fold rum, and the "Indians had made frequent vifits at his houfe, in- duced, probably, by their fondnefs for that liquor. He h.uf S-^en particularly deiired by Crefap to re- niove -.vc.i take away his rum, and he was ai^ually preparin-'T to move at the time cf the murder. The evening before a fquaw cams over to Baker's
APPENDIX. 3^5
lioufe, and by her crying feemed to be in great diftrefs. The caufe of her iineafmefs being aiked, Ihe refufed to tell ; but getting Baker^s wife alone, ike told her, that the Indians were going to kill her and all her family the next day, that Ihe loved her did not wiih her to be killed, and therefore told her what was intended-, that fhe might fave herfelf. In confequence of this information. Ba- ker got a number of men to the amount of 2 1 to coriie to his houfe and they were all there before inorning. A council was held, and it was deter- mined, that the men Ihould lie concealed in the hack apartment ; that if the Indians did come and behaved themfelves peaceably, they Ihould not be molefted ; but if not, the men were to Ihew them- felves and a<^ accordingly. Early in the morn- ing 7 Indians, 4 men and 3 fquaws, came over. — Logan's brother was one of them. They imme- diately got rum, and all, except Logan's brother, became very much intoxicated. At this time all the men were concealed, except the man of the houfe, Baker, and two others who ftaid out with him. Thofe Indians came unarmed. After fome time Logan's brother took down a coat and hat belonging to Baker's brother-in-law, who lived with him, and put them on, and fetting his arms a kimbo began to ftrut about, till at length com- ing up to one of the men, he attempted to ftrike him, faying " white man, fon of a bitch." The white man, vvhom he treated thus, kept out of his way for fome time ; but growing iriritated he jumped to his gun, and fhot the Indian as he was making to the door with the coat and hat on him. The men who lay concealed, then rulhed out and
365 APPENDIX.
killed the whole of them, excepting one ehild, which I believe is yet alive. But before this happened, one with two, the other with five Indians, all na- ked, painted, and armed completely for war, were difcovered to dart from the fhore on which Loo-an's camp was. Had it not been for this circumftance, the white men would not have aded as they did ; but this confirmed what the fquaw had told before. The white men, having killed as aforefaid the In- dians in the houfe, ranged themfelves along the bank of the river, to receive the canoes. The ca- noe with the two Indians came near, being the foremoft. Our men fired upon them and killed them both. The other canoe then went back. After this two other canoes ftarted, the one con- taining II, the other 7 Indians, painted and arm- ed as the firft. They attempted to land below our men ; but were fired upon, had one killed, and retreated, at the fame time firing back. Tq. the bed of my recolledion there were three of the Greathoufes engaged in this bufmefs. This is a true reprefentation of the aifair from beginning to end. I was intimately acquainted with Crefap, and know he had no hand in that tranfadion. Ke told me himfelf afterwards at Redftone old fort, that the day before Logan's people were killed, he, with a fmall party, had an engagement with a party of Indians on Capteener, about 44 jniles lower down. Logan's people were killed at the miOuth of Yellov/ creek on the 24th of May, 1774, and on the 23d, the day before Crefap was engaged as already ftated. I know likewife that he was generally blamed for it, and believed by ail who were not acquainted with the circum-
APPENDIX. 367
JIances, to have been the perpetrator of it. I know that he defpiled and hated the Greathoufes ever afterwards on account It. I was intimately acquainted with general Gibfon, and {erved under him during the late war. I have a difcharge from him now lying in the land office at Richmond, to which I refer any perfon for my character, wha might be difpofed to fcruple my veracity. I was likewlfe at the treaty held by lord Dunraore with the Indians at Chellccthe. As for the fpeech faid to have been delivered by Logan on that occafion^ it might have been, or might not, for any thing I know, as I never heard of it till long afterv^ards* I do not beheve that Logan had any relations killed except his brother. Neither of the Squaws who were killed was his wife. Two of them were old women, and the tliird, v/Ith her child v/hich was faved, I have the befl reafon In the world to be- lieve was the wife and child of general Gibfon. I know he educated the child, and took care of it, as Ir it had been his own. Whether Logan had a wite or not, I cannot fay ; but it is probable tliat as he was a chief, he confidered them all hk people, _ All this I am ready to be qualified to at any time.
JOHN SAPPINGTON.
Atteft, Samuel M'Kee, Junr.
Madlfon County, Feb. 13th, 1800.
I do certify further that the above named John Sapplngton told me, at the fame time and place at which he gave me the above narrative, that he liimfelf was the man who (liot the brother of Lo-
36^ APPENDIX-
o-an in the koufe.as abpve related, and that he Tikewlfe killed one of the Indians in one of the ca- noes, which came over from the oppofite ftiore.
He likewife. told me, that Crefap never faid an angry word to him about the matter, although he was frequently in company with Crefap, and in- deed had been, and continued to be, in habits of intimacy with that gentleman, and was always be- friended by him on every occafion. He further told me, that after they had perpetrated the mur- der, and were flying into thefettlements, he met with. Crefap (if I recolka right, at Pvedftone old fort,), and gave him a fcalp, a very large fine one, as he expreffed it and adorned with filver. This fcalp I think he told me ; was the fcalp of Logan's brother ; though as to this I am not abfolutely
certain.
Crriifid hy SAMUEL M'KEE, Junr.
riNiSi,
• (\'
i
Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Dec. 2003
PreservationTechnologies
A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION
1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111
m
«3^w tmi
^
i^^int^v;