'YiiILIE«¥MII¥EI^Snir¥°

BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME
Olf THE
Henry W. Scott, Jr. Fund

Printed for Private Circulation.

LETTERS
WRITTEN HOME IN THE YEARS 1864-5
DESCRIBING
RESIDENCE IN CANADA, AND JOURNEYS TO
NEW YORK, WASHINGTON AND THE
PENNSYLVANIAN OIL REGION,
AND A VISIT TO THE ARMY
OF THE POTOMAC ;
TO WHICH ARE ADDED
LETTERS WRITTEN HOME in 1865,
FROM THE IRON REGION OF STYRIA, AND
FROM AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY;

WM THOMAS NEWMARCH,
A.A. Oxon: Grad. King's Coll., Lond:

COLLECTED AND REVISED
J 880.

Ec^f.mn/

c^.

The following pages contain selections from Letters
sent home by the Traveller, then a youth under twenty,
in the course of the years 1864-5, during most of which
he was in the office (and house) of Mr. Joseph Hickson,
the Secretary and now General Manager of the Grand
Trunk Railway of Canada. From Canada journeys were
made to various parts of the United States, where the
Civil War between the North and South was then in
progress ; and, as will be seen, one of the expeditions
arising out of these journeys was to the Army of the
Potomac, in the Winter of 1864-5.
When in 1868-9, ^^^ writer became one of the
original Captains of the fine regiment of Volunteer
Engineers (the First Durham) raised among the 7,000
workpeople employed at Jarrow-on-Tyne, by Palmer's
Ship Building Company, of which the writer was
Secretary, the lessons learnt on the Potomac, in the
presence of a real enemy, were found of great value.
The writer cannot permit these Letters to appear
without recording his deep sense of the obligations he is
under to Mr. Joseph Hickson, for the kindness which
he as a host extended to the writer ; and for the valuable
example and advice which he placed before him, as a
young man entering upon the active business of life in a
new and foreign country.
Portions of the original letters relating only to family
subjects are of course omitted.
The two Photographs preceding the title, exhibit the
writer's Winter and Summer Costume in Canada.
London :
Clapham Common, Feb., 1880.

CONTENTS.

LETTERS FROM CANADA, NEW YORK, &c.

BostonMontreal

Niagara

1864 April

May

Lake Michigan „
Milwaukee „
Chicago ,.

July

M )'

Page.
Arrival  i
Journey from Boston  5
Montreal  8
Accident to train of German
Emigrants  10
„ 12 17
26
>, 29
The St, Lawrence and
Niagara Falls  33
Buffalo and Rochester .... 37
On board the Wabash for
Milwaukee  41
Hotel Sharpers  42
Description  55
Description of City  59
Hotel Raising  62

CONTENTS.

Chicago 1864 July
Brantford ,, Aug.
Hamilton ,, ,<
Cleveland „ „
Montreal Ottawa ,1
New York

Boston

New York

Washington

„ Oct.
„ Nov.

j» ,)

,1 I)

II ,'

,» 'I

Pennsylvania „ Dec.

Meadville

Page.
Weight and dimensions of
Hotel  65
Grand Trunk Railway
Festival  74
Avoiding a Railroad
ColHsion  79
Description of City and
Railroad  82
Political Meeting  86
Ball at St. Lawrence Hall . . 87
Ball at thg Bristol Hotel . . 92
Lumber Rafts  93
Noisy Travellers  97
Election of President .... 99
Copies of Voting Tickets ,. 100
Journey to New London .. 103
Visit to Harvard  106
Visit to Private Lunatic . .
Asylum  108
Description of City  113
Alarming Incendiarism .... 1 14
Gallop in the Park  ng
Railroad Cars & Locomotives 120
In the Oil Region  129
Hotel Accommodation  132
The Atlantic and Great
Western Railway .... 139
Description of Philadelphia 144
Description of the Capital.. 149
Description of the City  151
Interview with Mr. Stanton 156

CONTENTS.

Page.
Virginia 1864 Dec. On board the Sanitary
Commission Barge .... 159
,, ,, ,, Description of the Army of
the Potomac  162
„ ,, ,, Plan of Entrenchments .... 163
„ ., ,, Plan of Earthworks  164
„ ,, ,, Visit to the Lines .,..,,.. 165

LETTERS FROM STYRIA, AUSTRIA, &c.

Vienna

Pesth

TriesteFiume

Trieste

Gotha

1865 May Scenery from Vienna to Leoben .. 171
June Visit to Iron Works and Coal Mines 174
,, Arrival at Pesth and Review by the
Emperor  182
„ Visit to Tobacco Warehouse  183
„ Hungarian Wines  185
,, Prices of Wines  ...... 1S7
July Description ofthe Port  188
„ Visit to Paper Mills and Chemical
Works  i8g
June The Coal Mines of Wolfsegg .... 192
,, Description of the Port  195
,, Visit to Arsenal  196
July The Journey from Prague  199-

Boston, Massachusetts,
2znd April, 1864.
My dear Father, When the "Europa" called in at
Halifax, I sent you a line announcing my safe arrival on
this side and gave a few details of the voyage and how
under Hickson's directions to keep on eating, I got over
the " Mal de mer" which came on the third day during
the storm ; from sympathy with our very sick neighbour.
In connection with this matter, Alfred Brown declares
that I have spoiled a pair of his boots, by filling one and
not the other. He maintains that they, will never be the
same size again. We had a long and stormy passage.
Although there were 120 first-class passengers only 7
were at dinner on the third day.
There was some very heavy weather just before we
reached the Banks of Newfoundland. During the
night a heavy wave struck the port fore quarter,
broke away part of the bulwarks, damaged an officer's
cabin and an adjoining provision storehouse, and sent
the joints floating about the deck; one of the saluting
guns broke loose, carriage and all, and one of the
small cast iron wheels of the latter broke one of the
triangular glass prisms, called Deck-lights, which was
supposed to help to illuminate the cabin, mis-called State-

room, occupied by Alfred Brown (Alfred Brown, Esq., of
Montreal, a well to do and well connected gentleman, a
bachelor rather over forty I should say, a friend of
Hickson's) and myself, we got a regular wetting and
our light articles floated about on the floor of the cabin,
however, we picked up the articles and were not much
worse, turned out early and probably ate rather more
breakfast in consequence.
The following night the heavy weather continuing and
the Europa being rather down by the stem, that is by the
nose, she shipped a sea every wave, the usual scuppers
for draining the deck were quite insufficient, and the large
flaps in the bulwarks near the mooring bits forward ofthe
Paddle-boxes were braced up to allow the prompt exit of
the super-abundant salt water.
The gentlemen passengers who were located in the
forward cabin, to reach which they had to cross'the engine
space ran some risk, some did not face it but slept, or
rather lay down in their clothes in the saloon or fidley,
(this latter word means a covered space over the main
hatch at the fore end of the structure or deck house con
taining the saloon) which furnished with rough seats is
used by the passengers for smoking.
Several of us got wetted by the water which rolled from
off the forecastle along the deck gangways at the sides of
the forward deck-house nearly 2 feet deep ; I lost my hold
of the companion way door handle, port-side, through
someone opening it from the inside and fell down, but
luckily caught hold of a deck bolt and although the pockets
of my pea-jacket were full of water so soon as the vessel
rolled to starboard I reached the companion way. The
steward was not very pleased at having the soaked
clothing to attend to and grumbled, but was quickly re
buked and shut up by Alfred Brown, (with whom I
seem to be a great favourite, and who calls me'

Sonney) who seemed to me to be looking rather
anxious. He had preceded me by about two minutes,
and it seems, opened the door again to look for me,
and when the water knocked me down was quite
anxious lest I might fail to catch something and get
washed through the large flap holes in the bulwarks,
however, I think that the bits would have stopped one,
but the rush of water as the vessel rose each time over
the tall waves was very heavy. I did not mention any
thing of this in my Halifax letter lest I might alarm my
mother concerning the remainder of the passage. The
length of the waves in the middle of the Atlantic is very
great, 400 feet is sometimes a moderate computation, and
when a heavy head wind is blowing, as you stand on the
quarter-deck while descending one wave you have to look
well upwards, sometimes throwing your head somewhat
back in order to see the top of the approaching one ; of
course it is to be remembered that you are on the down
ward half of the last wave, and consequently at an angle
of say 45° in relation with the horizon.
But to leave the " Europa," and talk about Boston,
(called by the natives Borsting.) It is an old settled place
and therefore any expectations about a new appearance
on ones' arrival in the New World are delayed in their
fulfilment for a time, but I am told not very long.
We are staying at the Revere House, which is the
name ofthe chief Hotel here. It seems to be customary
here to call Hotels — Houses ; the three chief ones are
called Tremont House, Revere House, Parker House,
and American House.
Boston possesses several quite — for America — ancient
objects of interest. The Bunker's Hill Memorial, com
memorative ofthe British defeat in 1775, which naturally
the Americans are very proud of, and have a song about
the Britishers coming up a hill, to go down again.

There is also the Faneuil Hall, called the " Cradle of
Liberty," where the meetings of revolutionary patriots
were held in Washington's time.
There are also two very pretty cemeteries, Mount
Auburn and Forest Hills. The former is certainly most
beautiful, and reminds one ofthe snug lying in Bath Abbey
Churchyard, spoken of by Sir Lucius O'Trigger.
However, as it is late, we must now go to bed, and be
ready to go by rail,— I mean "by the cars,"— to Portland
in the morning. Portland is the chief town of the State
of Maine, where the Maine Liquor Law prevails ; I am
very curious to see whether it is efficacious.
Meanwhile, with love to Mother and sister Lillv
I am, Your affectionate son,
W. THOS. NEWMARCH.

St. Laurence Hall, Montreal,
April, 1864.
My dear Father, —
The Maine Liquor Law, mentioned in my last
letter, is all rubbish, and does not work at all. We left
Boston early, and bumped along, but were delayed by an
accident which occured to a Yankee not sober, I think,
who in stepping from one car to another, fell down and was
run over. The Yankees hereabout do not seem to have
much respect for human life. The train stopped, and the
conductor and a number of others went to view the person
injured ; they soon returned, and one was questioned by a
passenger, — a female, of course, — as to the result of the
accident,which he summarised as follows : ' 'Wa'all, Ma'am,
" guess as how that ere cus is a gone coon, for I see'd the
" conductortake up apiece of his back bone about so long,"
(delineating about half the length of his forearm). The
body was left in charge of a railway man to be conveyed
to a shanty near the line, and the train proceeded. It
reached Portland late in the afternoon, and we went to an
hotel to have dinner, and afterwards took a stroll round,
and saw in the street a number of individuals, mostly
males, obviously not sober, many more than would be
met in Boston. At dinner some so-called Bass's Ale in pint
bottles was produced with some mystery ; it was remarkable
for its badness and flatness, and the unanimous opinion
was that it had never seen Burton-on-Trent. It was charged
in the bill next morning at a high price as " cooked veget
ables." We all retired to bed, I got up early in the morn
ing, and went down into the bar, which is always the office
of the hotel, where the proprietor, or " boss," and his clerk,
or one of them, is to be found. In this case there was no

obvious liquor, but in walking round I observed two hard-
faced looking customers— one with a rosy nose— come in
and go up to the boss and wishing him the "top ofthe
morning," ask very civilly if they might " see the baby."
This seemed rather a strange request, so I thought I would
follow their example ; went out, took a turn for two or three
minutes, came in again, went up to the landlord, who
recognised me as a sleeper in the house,[and enquired how
I had slept ; whereupon I thanked him politely, and en
quired tenderly after the landlady and his offspring, and
said I should like to see the baby. He agreed promptly,
and said if I went upstairs I should find a chambermaid
who would direct me to the room where the nurse and
baby were. I went up, met the chambermaid, who showed
me into a large room close by, where there was certainly a
baby on a large four-post bed, in charge of a girl, also an
oldish woman, the nuss, on the far side ofthe bed, which
latter served to hide several earthenware jars filled with
spirits. There were present the two hard-faced men, drink
ing spirits, of which the room smelt strong. I was rather
doubtful as to what I should ask for : I had been told that
sherry cobbler was a great drink, but I did not see any
signs of it ; so I said, Bourbon whisky and water (Bourbon
whisky was talked of on board the steamer as the best
whisky). The old nuss said " No Bourbon here." One
ofthe men promptly suggested, "Better have something
short,'' to which I assented, and was served with some
supposed whisky in one little tumbler, and some water
(rather doubtful looking) in a second little tumbler. I
poured some of the water into the spirits to dilute the
spirit ; whereupon one of the men immediately observed
"Guess you're a stranger: you see " the way here is,
"you drinks the whisky fust and the water after
wards ; like this," and he poured the contents of his
little tumblers down his throat successively. I enquired

whether he would like another glass with me, to which he
promptly assented ; and his friend, without invitation, said
he could take one with me also. So two more were served ;
I just tasted mine, and they tossed theirs off. I then sug
gested payment to the nurse, or nuss, v/ho charged me about
IS. gd. for the three liquors. It then came out that the two
men had each had three goes before I arrived, and were
getting on already, as the saying is.
I departed without delay, and went upstairs to rejoin the
party of us who were all going to Montreal, at breakfast ;
and being asked where I had been, I replied that I had
been " to see the baby.'' There was a general laugh, and
Alfred Brown thought I had found out pretty soon where
the baby was. Two of those at the table were English, and
opened their eyes in wonderment as to the use of seeing
the baby; however, the others would not tell them, but said
they would all go and take them after breakfast. I took the
hint and held my peace, and would only explain that the
baby was rather a nice one, and that, not being accustomed
to babies, I could not tell whether it was boy or giri. They
all went to see the baby, and were not impressed by the
practical results ofthe " Maine Liquor Law."
We then went to the Depot, the name by which a railway
station is here called, and got on board for Bangor and
Montreal. Yours, &c.,
W. T. N.

St. Lawrence Hall, Montreal, May, 1864.
Mv Dear Father,
We reached here just before May-day, and found the
ice breaking up and flowing away rapidly down the river in
large floes. It is very warm already. Montreal is a city
beautifully situated on an island which lies between the St.
Lawrence and the Ottawa. The island is considerable,
being about twenty-two miles long and seven miles across,
or just about the size of the Isle of Wight. The city
extends about three miles along the north bank of the St.
Lawrence, and the buildings rise in rows the one behind
the other, as the various streets are built higher up the face
of two rather imposing hills called "the Mountain." The
Mountain is clothed with trees from the middle to the top,
and the buildings peep out from among them. The Roman
Catholic Cathedral, a large building with two square west
towers, is the most prominent object, and the Enghsh
Cathedral, with a tall and graceful spire, situated somewhat
higher up, is the next prominent object. Mr. Hickson
proposes to settle down in a house in Inkerman Terrace,
and I am to live there so long as I remain in Montreal.
Montreal is connected with the southern bank of the
river by means of an ice road in the winter, a bridge of
boats in the summer, and by the railway viaduct all the
year round. The railway bridge is one of the largest and
longest in existence ; it is 1^ miles long, and is very similar
to the Menai Bridge, but single instead of double ; it is
quite dark inside,— in fact it is best described as a gigantic
iron tunnel suspended in the air. Mr. Alfred Brown has a very
handsome bachelor's establishment near Mountain Street.
I was there at dinner last evening, and he told the story of
the boots, which raised a great laugh, somewhat at my expense.

You will remember I mentioned them in one of my first
letters. One gentleman suggested that they should be
produced, to see which vi^as shrunk.
I have been introduced to various people here, including
the Hon. James Ferrier, Mr. C. J. Brydges, and others, and
am to go with the latter on one of his railway journeys West,
shortly. He has a car which has two bedrooms, or rather
cabins, containing two berths each ; also a saloon, butler's
pantry, fitted up with plates, dishes, glasses, and a wine bin ;
at the other end of the car a place with a stove, used for
cooking — altogether a complete establishment, which serves
for a residence for Mr. Brydges and his staff when he goes
along the Grand Trunk Railway to visit the various stations.
As the line is 1,023 miles long in one length, besides
branches, which make a total of 1,377 miles in all, the
expedition over even one section takes some time. It is
divided into sections, of which there are four. Portland
section — Portland in Maine to Montreal, 293 miles, crossing
the U.S. frontier at Island Pond, in New Hampshire, 150
miles from Portland ; Quebec section, — Riviere du Loup to
Quebec, 120 miles, Quebec to Richmond, 96 miles, where
it joins the Portland section, 64 miles south of Montreal,
making z8o miles in all; Central section,— Montreal to
Toronto, 333 miles; Western section, — Toronto to Sarnia,
a port at the extreme west of Canada, close to Lake
Huron, igo miles. The distance from Boston to Montreal,
via Portland , is 405 miles.
However, I daresay you know all about these matters
already, so I will not trouble you with any more particulars.
Youis, &c.,
W. T. N.

ID

Inkerman Terrace, Montreal.
May, 1864.
My Dear Father,
I have not been quiet very long. Hickson had been
settled in this house a few days, together with a friend of his,
Mr. Samuel Waddell, a very handsome man, a Canadian,
and myself. Hickson was rather poorly with an attack of
Canadian diarrhoea, and had gone to bed ; I sat up with
him awhile, and then went to bed myself. About 2 a.m. a
violent knocking came at the front door, which woke me ;
so I jumped up, put on my slippers, and went out to go
down to the front door. The man was shouting as well as
knocking, and Hickson said it must be an important
telegram, as he recognized the man's voice, as belonging
to the Telegraph Department. I told him to lie still, as
moving was very bad for him, and I would go down and
see what it was.
Sure enough it was a telegram, and the news very urgent
and serious, but not agreeable, and to the effect that a train
from Quebec, crowded with German emigrants, had gone
through the swing bridge in the viaduct which crosses the
River Richelieu at Beloeuil, about 18 miles south of
Montreal; that 100 or so were killed ; that the confusion
was great, as the railway men spoke English, the habitans
French, and the emigrants German ; that a message had
been conveyed to Mr. Brydges, who had sent word to the
Superintendent to prepare a breakdown train and gang as
soon as possible, and be ready to start as soon as he reached
Point St. Charies, where the railway head-quarters are;
that they wanted five or six people who could speak German
to go also, so as to understand the language ofthe sufferers.
Hickson was horrified, but very prompt. He shouted to
the man-"All right; you go and get two doctors, or three

II

if you can." He turned to me and said, " How about
the Germans ? " I saw he was nearly fainting, so I gave
him some brandy ; and when he rallied a little, told him
that I had been six months in Germany the previous year
studying the language at Gotha, and spoke German quite
well. He said " Very good ; Will you go ? Will you go?
— ^you are just the very individual for the job. But, mind,
you will not find it a nice job ! " I told him to quiet his
mind ; that I should be only too glad to be of any assist
ance, and would be ready in five minutes. He said " Here'
take the brandy with you, and some biscuits," and then
sank down in his bed. I waked Mr. Waddell and the
housekeeper, who got up very grumpy, until they under
stood the serious state of the case in all way.
So I dressed, and left with the brandy bottle and some
biscuits in my pockets, on an expedition from which I
returned about two hours ago ; but here I must break off
until the next occasion, as a messenger from the General
Hospital has just arrived and wants me to go to the
General Hospital as soon as possible, by desire of the
Hospital Steward and the acting Surgeon on duty, as some
of the pieces of white paper pinned on to the Protestants
have got rubbed off and a question of re-sorting them has
arisen. A second messenger arrived since who wants me
to go to Point St. Charles, where the least injured
emigrants have arrived, and where confusion is rampant.
Shall go to latter place first, so am off, and must post
pone further remarks on this awful business till next mail.
These religious sortings are simply scandalous under such
serious circumstances, and must take care of themselves
for a while. Will resume the emigrant affair in my next
letter. Yours, &c.,
W. T. N.

12

Inkerman Terrace, Montreal,
May, 1864.
Mt dear Father,
At the end of my last I said I would defer
any further allusion to the railway accident matter until
the next Mail.
After the sufferers left the railway station for the two
hospitals, I returned to Inkerman terrace, as I was quite
exhausted, having had nothing to eat since three a.m.
except one biscuit and a little water, the other biscuits
and the brandy having been used early in the morning
to sustain the severe cases and the little children. My
head ached frightfully from the heat of the sun, which
was unusually hot, having been on the back of my neck
all day, as I stooped over the sufferers. I had some tea
and bread, a good wash and change of clothes, and
fortunately my nose bled, which relieved me from appre
hension of sunstroke, a not uncommon affliction here in
summer. I fell asleep for a short time, and woke up
pretty well again, and soothed myself with writing my
last letter, and was interrupted by the messengers
mentioned therein. After deciding to go to Point St"
Charles, I took some more food with good appetite ; went
up and saw Hickson about the messages, who ordered
his man to go for a vehicle to take me to Point St. Charies
where he agreed I should be much wanted to settle the
convalescents in the freight shed.
But to return to the proper sequence of the story.
On the arrival of the breakdown special at Beloeuil (the
word train is always omitted, but taken as understood by
railway people) a terrible sight awaited us, the local railway
men, assisted by a few habitans, had done their best and
pulled as many ofthe dead, dying and bruised people out

13
of the Richelieu river as the grey light of the dawn had
enabled them.
The dead lay in a row on the inclined bank, but the
less about the unfortunate drowned and mutilated the
better; they were then uncounted but ultimately num
bered 89.
Of the wounded — some lay, some sat, some crouched
further up the bank and tried to bandage up their own
wounds or the wounds of those belonging fo them, by
means of shreds and pieces torn from their clothing.
There was one little baby saved through a window ofthe
2nd class car from the stiffening arms of its mother.
It is necessary to explain that next to the locomotive
came the head guard's break, filled with lugguage ; next
to that 2 baggage cars, next to that a 2nd class car which
had contained nearly 60 passengers ; the locomotive fell
into the gap of the drawbridge, on to the top of the
second of two barges which were passing through the
drawbridge, broke the deck in and the barge in half, and
sunk it. The stoker was killed ; the engineman, to
whose neglect may be attributed the accident, jumped
off as the engine fell and swam out of river. The guard
was killed, having apparently held on, twisting his break
hard down and going down with it.
The break car and the two succeeding baggage cars,
added to the sunken barge filled up the river space of the
open drawbridge, almost to the surface of the water, and
the 2nd class Car, which came next, went dovvn on its fore
end on the top of them ; all the seats breaking away from
the sides and rushing down to the fore end, together with
the people seated between them ; thus forming a mass of
broken wood, broken legs and dying passengers ; the car
then tipped over nearly bottom up, and settled in somewhat
shallow water, within a few feet of the northern bank of
the Richelieu river, which was only about forty feet from

inner buttress of the drawbridge. Nearly the whole of
the passengers in the 2nd class car, except the baby and
a few others, were killed or drowned, but the other
emigrants fared better ; they were in baggage cars and
had their bedding with them, upon which they were
lying asleep, and there being no seats, their lower
limbs were not fractured, and although they were all
turned upside down, and so remained for awhile and
their faces consequently became nearly black from suf
fused blood, and although generally somewhat badly
bruised, they were not otherwise much hurt.
The breakdown gang set to work to get some of the
cars burst open, the sides lifted off, and those who were
fixed in the pieces got out. A shed used for merchandize,
such as flour barrels, &c., was cleared and the corpses
removed into it, from out of the rays of the sun, which
now began to shine brightly. The work went on till about
noon, at which hour all had been extricated and landed,
but the crying of the children had become terrible, and
the Railway Managing Director coming near where I
was, asked one of the Doctors, (of whom several had
arrived by another train) what could be done to stop it,
I suggested that milk and soup would, I thought, stop
their mouths successfully; the doctor agreed. ,§50 (fifty
dollars) were handed to me and I started with six men
to go to the neighbouring cottages of the habitans and
buy up their dinners, and being able to speak French,
after a little negociation, we succeeded, in consideration
for about one-half of the fifty dollars, in securing a
lot of milk, a good deal of bread and cakes, and some
soup with meal in it, also some cups and mugs to serve
it in, and set the housewives to work to make a lot
more similar soup. The provisions produced a remark
able diminution of the noise.
About this time arrived the Mayor of Montreal and

15

some others ; two or three members of the Montreal
German Society to act as interpreters ; also the religious
authorities both Catholic and Protestant and the Hospital
authorities. It was announced that a long ambulance train would
be there in two hours, and the wounded were to be
prepared for the journey. Then arose a question, a most
awkward question in such a situation, namely, as to what
was the religion of the several emigrants. As the number
of cases, about 150, were too numerous for the Montreal
General Hospital, the Protestant institution to take, the
authorities of Hotel Dieu, the Roman Catholic Hospital,
offered to take the Catholics ; so a process of sorting
commenced by the members of the German society ; they
asked questions of religious creeds, but the unfortunate
emigrants were so dazed with having been turned upside
down so long and from want of food, that very little result
was obtained. I recollected that the mother of the saved
baby had a crucifix round her neck, so I went, and after
some difficulty got it out of the mortuary shed, and by
shewing it to the sufferers and noting whether they
crossed themselves or merely bowed, the Roman Catho
lics were easily distinguished from the Lutherans, and
were ticketed. The Protestants were distinguished by
a piece of paper (both paper and Protestant begin with
P) pinned on to them ; the members of the German
Society fastened the papers on to the backs of the
emigrants, those done under my supervision had their
papers pinned by one of the sympathising habitan house
wives, near their left breasts, either inside or outside
their clothing. Of this anon.
The ambulance train arrived, and was slowly and
tediously loaded, as the wounded had to be carried up
a steep incline from the river bank, in order to reach
the level of the railway, the viaduct being forty feet
above the level of the water.

i6

The train left for Montreal, and on arriving at the
Bonaventure street station was unloaded, and the emi
grants conveyed in military ambulance waggons, in
vehicles of various kinds and on stretchers to the two
hospitals ; the Protestants, to the number of about ninety,
to the General Hospital, and the Roman Catholics,
about sixty in number, to the Hotel Dieu. I walked
with the cortage a short way, and then finding myself
very exhausted, with a frightful headache, arising from
the heat of the sun on the back of my head and neck all
day long, while stooping over the emigrants, besides
being stained with blood and dirt, I with difficulty got a
cab and went off to Inkerman terrace, as related in my last.
At the General Hospital the injured were accommodated
on mattresses, arranged round the various rooms, as
the number far exceeded the available accommodation.
At the Hotel Dieu, whither I did not go, I believe they
had rather more space. At the General Hospital they
had supper and some stimulant, and were allowed to go
to sleep. At the Hotel Dieu I believe the doctors un
wisely started to look after the wounds, and nearly lost
two or three by haemorrhage,
I will make a pause, as I am wanted by Hickson, who
is calling from his bedroom (he is much better) and will
begin in my next by relating what happened at the
Depot, at Point St. Charles and afterwards at the
Hospital, from which I returned very late last night.
Yours, &c.,
W. T. N.
P.S. — Don't be alarmed about me, I have slept well,
have no headache and have had a good breakfast, and
am ready for a further turn at the wounded unfortunate
emigrants, and am anxious to learn how matters go on,
both at Point St. Charies and at the Hospitals, especially
about the baby, poor little motherless orphan.

17

Montreal General Hospital,
May, 1864.
My dear Father,
From the above address you would suppose I
had turned Medical Student, but that is not so. I am
taking an opportunity to write a letter in the Committee
Room ; but to resume the account where I broke off in
my last letter. I rode in a cab to Point St. Charles,
where I found that the least damaged emigrants had
arrived, about 200 in number, as also some of their
baggage, beds, &c. The latter had been used, together
with a lot of straw and some sacks, to form beds in a
freight shed adjoining the platform.
The men were intended to be located at one end and the
women at the other; a screen of empty boxes, &c., being
piled across the middle; but although food was served from
the Refreshment establishment gratis, at the cost of the
Railway Company, and distributed in the shed, the people
keep moving about, especially three or four men, a low
looking lot, who would intrude into that portion of the
shed allotted to the women. These men laid claim to
various articles as their property and endeavoured to move
them, utterly regardless of the comfort of those reclining
on or near them. A violent discussion ensued, and the
railway men (a fresh relief) who did not understand one
word of the language spoken by the emigrants, turned
the offenders out of the women's part. On my arrival, the
unfortunate emigrants looked rejoiced, and several, who
could walk or hobble, came up to speak and complain of
thieving, so also did the railway men. I explained to the
emigrants, that for the night it was necessary to separate
the men from the women, as it was difficult to know their
respective relationships. It seems that their grievance

i8

was that while they rested themselves and tried to sleep,
the wandering men came and tried to steal various articles
of clothing, &c. They especially evinced a great dislike
of one man, a Bohemian, and they trembled at him,
called him " schurke and dieb," rascal and thief, and
wished him away. I had heard on the train as we
returned, a story, that just before the breakdown train
arrived in the morning, a man (who turned out to be
this very Bohemian) was caught trying to steal from
the dying mother of the rescued baby, a bundle of bank
notes, from within her stays. In the confusion of the
gloom, it seemed only as if he were easing her staylaces,
as she lay on the bank, but her cries and struggles at
tracted attention, and a railway man, a platelayer,
noticing that the woman seemed to resist the man's
apparent succour, seized him and caught his .hand, out
of which fell a bundle of bank notes, and with an oath
of fury, the platelayer gave him a violent shove and
a kick, and sent him down the bank, head first into
the river. No one would help him out ; he tried to ap
proach the bank, but the oaths and hostile signs kept him
off and he seemed likely to be drowned, for he disappeared
to no one's regret. But it seems he got hold of a broken
piece of timber from a Car, and afterwards of the Car
side and got out when the breakdown gang set to work.
None of the railway men present could recognize the
Bohemian, but they said that the platelayer's foreman
and some of his men (who had all gone to bed, being
quite exhausted) could ; so I sent for the foreman, who
came, and the moment he heard the complaint about the
stealing, turned round, saw the Bohemian, with a cry of
" here's that thieving brute again," sprang on to him,
floored him, called upon the other men to seize him,
that he deserved lynching there and then. However,
luckily an inspector, two Serjeants and several policemen.

19
sent by the maj-or arrived, to take charge for the night ; he
was secured and handcuffed, although he tried to get on
his knees and appealed to the Virgin Marj' to attest his
innocence. Many of the emigrants looked much relieved
and smiled faintly at his departure. The Bohemian was
locked up in a small sort of place for the night ; his com
panions were ejected and made to lie down on some sacks
outside, with a policeman in watch over them.
Things quieted a little, but as I went round to enquire
if they were all comfortable, and advising them to go to
sle;p, that they would have breakfast in the morning, a
man said that he could not sleep as his arm was broken :
he was carried to the waiting room and a doctor sent for.
A woman who was nearly fainting and seemed to be
in great pain, kept crying for " Heinrich " ; I asked who
Heinrich was, and went and called Heinrich among the
men, but only one answered and he said that he had no
wife. One of the women near by got up, and speaking in
a low tone to me said, that the woman was " schwange
und vielleicht gleich im Xiederkunft fein wurde,"' which
meant that she was taken in a premature confinement,
so she was carried to the ladies' waiting room and laid
on the sofa ; the doctor just arrived confirmed the view,
so the woman who gave the information, the wife of an
engine driver, and the doctor attended her, and before
next morning there was a baby. A second case turned
up a little latter on, after I had left to go to the General
Hospital on my way home.
The man and the cab had both waited, whereat I
was surprised, but very glad. The platelayer was
fidgetty, he wanted to learn that the baby was all right,
he suspected the Bohemian of all sorts of evil inten
tions, so I offered him a lift to the Hospital. He had
kept the notes in his trousers pocket, and asked me
to take them. I said he had better hand them over to

20

the Hospital authorities. He told me the remainder of
the story about the baby ; the baby on its rescue (a fine
little girl, about seven or eight months old— my ex
perience in babies and children since Portland has been
considerable) was taken to a French habitans cottage,
where it was_fed, after which it was with difficulty soothed
to sleep, but soon awoke crying; the woman took it in
her arms and came out with a notion of finding its
mother, and passed near where the poor dying woman
(her spine and lower limbs were seriously injured with
the broken seats of the 2nd class car) was lying ; the poor
mother called out faintly, having recognized her child.
The baby was placed in her arms, the platelayer put the
notes in the baby's bosom, then signing to those around
to take witness, he put' them into his pocket, took them
out again to restore them to the baby and then replaced
them solemnly in his pocket. The poor mother looked
gratified ; some one gave her a little water (nothing else
had then arrived) the little baby nestled down in its
mother's arms, from which it was taken after she had
quietly expired.
This touching story, related by the rough but kind
hearted man and accompanied by tears, which he
brushed away with his black and toil worn hand, nearly
upset me ; I shed tears freely, and only just succeeded in
wiping them away as we arrived at the General Hospital,
which was at some distance from Point St. Charies, and
nearly all uphill.
On our arrival we found that a religious conclave was
sitting, composed of a German Lutheran Parson, a
Roman Catholic Priest, a member of the German
Society, one of the Hospital Surgeons and the Hospital
Steward. It seems that some time before, one of the elderly
female emigrants was in extremis, but as her religion

21

was not known, the member of the German Society (one
of those who went down to Beloeuil) went to the Ward,
and, contrary to the nurses remonstrances, persisted in
questioning her ; the nurse fetched the House Surgeon
who ordered him out of the Ward, the member still
persisted, so the doctor turned him out, as he was
disturbing both the poor old woman, and the others
in the Ward.
The member fetched the German Parson,' and the
Romish Priest called, having been sent by the authori
ties at the Hotel Dieu to enquire if there were any more
Catholics, as they had some room left at the Hotel Dieu;
in fact, as they understood that the General Hospital was
crowded, they would take a few patients, irrespective of
faith, if it was desired ; but the German Parson and
m.ember were hotly opposed to any such abomination,
as taking a Protestant to a Catholic Hospital. The
discussion went on, so to turn the subject, I said I had
brought a man with me, a platelayer, who had found
some bank notes, which belonged to the orphan baby,
and he wanted to place them in a safe place. The
German Society member said he would take charge of
them, and the German Parson was equally prompt ; the
Priest enquired whether it was known whether the mo
ther was Catholic or Protestant. Catholic, undoubtedly,
I replied ; I have her crucifix in my pocket, which I got
to use to sort the wounded, as that gentleman, indicating
the Society-member knows. He said, Oh ! I suppose
you know a lot have got mixed, again ? I said I had
been informed that some tickets had fallen off. He
replied, he supposed that I (indicating me) had not
pinned the tickets on tight ; to which I had a good
answer, that they were nearly all pinned on by a French
woman, who brought her curious old pin cushion with
her, without which I cannot think where pins enough
could have been obtained.

22

At this moment the matron came in and said, Oh 1
the tickets which were lost were those fastened on the
backs near the neck. Then, I immediately put in, they
could not be mine, for mine were all on the left breast in
front, over the heart. The matron interrupted, that the
cases with the front tickets were all safe and the sufferers
took great care not to lose them ; she proceeded to say
that she had come down from the poor woman, for whom
she and a nurse had been doing all they could, but who
was obviously dying, and she ought to have religious
comfort, and would they be so good as to settle her
religion without delay. I said quickly, oh ! I have the
crucifix here, and will come with you and ascertain in
half a minute. But says the matron, she can't answer
questions, that gentleman, indicating the Society-member,
has been asking her questions ever so long and bothering
her. I reassured her by saying I ask no questions, I only
use this emblem, exhibiting the crucifix from out of my
pocket, it is quite effectual.
The Catholic Priest, in rather bad English, endeavoured
to state that my method was the correct one. Young
man, pray go without delay ; whereat the German
Parson enquired rather curtly, and pray who may you
be, that you make selections so quickly ? Oh ? a
young Yankee, belonging to the Railway Company, I
suppose, said the Society-member, probably from Boston
or the New England States and trained at Harvard ;
an Unitarian I suppose. I was much nettled, and told
him straightly, that I was not a Yankee, nor a Unitarian,
nor did 1 belong to the Railway Company ; but an
Englishman, educated at King's College, London, an
Associate in Arts of the University of Oxford, and a
member of the Church of England.
The Priest bowed respectfully, and so I waited no
longer, but said to the Matron, Please lead on, and went ;

23
the Society member was following up stairs, when the
matron barred the way and called to the Steward, who
had come out into the hall, you must keep that man
away, or he will disturb all the patients ; so he sulkily
went down again, and the matron and myself went into
the Ward to the dying sufferer. She, apparently, took
me for a young doctor and shook her head, but I ex
hibited the crucifix and held it in the usual attitude over
her. She regarded it with evident pleasure, and tried
to raise herself on her one uninjured arm. I gave the
crucifix to the nurse, who was kneeling on the other side
and who was crossing herself; the Matron and 1 raised
her about a foot from the mattress on the floor, very
gently, when, of her own accord, she used her one good
arm, the left, to cross herself several times, and make
nods intended for obeisances, and muttered some latin
words. It was quite clear she was a Roman Catholic,
so we laid her down again. As I was moving away, 1
put out my hand to the nurse for the crucifix, when the
dying woman put out her hand and muttered rather
more loudly " geb mir," give me, meaning the cross,
which I did, when she kissed it several times.
I left it with her, and beckoned to the matron for us
to go down. There was the sulky Society member with
the Steward looking after him. He said, loudly — Well,
you hav'nt been long. The Matron snapped at him,
Don't talk so loud and disturb the poor people so ! I said
we will go into the Steward's room again, and the
Matron will report what took place. Oh 1 'tis all hum
bug, said the Society man. I contradicted him flatly,
and asked that the Priest might go up and see the
woman without delay.
The Priest started with the matron, when the tiresome
man said, but I'll go too to see all square ; so I turned
to the Steward and requested both him and the Surgeon

24 and the German Parson to take witness of his uncalled
for behaviour ; explained that, having been under the
tutorship in Divinity of Dr. Jelk and Professor Plum-
tree, and taken a high place twice in the Divinity class,
over 200 strong, I perfectly understood the whole matter
in dispute. The Surgeon who said he was a Presby
terian quite agreed, and said that the Steward, in .the
absence of a member of the Committee, had his authority
to turn the man out by force, if necessary, for being
noisy and unreasonable.
The German Parson, who had been talking in German
with the Society member, spoke in favor of the member.
My nerves having been under tension all day, I turned
upon the German Parson, and said " das es entsetzliih
" war das ein Geistlicher solcher Betragung bei solcher
" Gelegenheiten in Schutz nehmen sollte." (That it was
scandalous for a clergyman to defend such conduct as
that of the Society member, especially under such cir
cumstances.) The man looked surprised at my speaking
in German and obviously felt that I had understood their
mutual conversation, his expression showed it, I nodded
to him affirmatively. He blushed and immediately pro
posed to the Society man, " Come, let us go, that young
fellow knows too much." They departed.
During this time, it was not however long, my friend
the Platelayer had been seated in a chair in the vestibule
and had had a nap, but the opening of the door awakened
him, and he jumped up and said " How about this
money?" The Germans heard the man's words and
the member turned round to come back again, but the
Steward held the door with his foot. " I must come
back." " What do you want ? I've had enough of you,"
said the Steward, a fine tall man. I suggested to the Sur
geon, who stood near, to let the Parson come back, which
he did, the other man waiting outside. After a short

25
discussion it was arranged that the Steward should take
charge of the papers for safe custody in his own safe,
contents unknown and give a receipt which the Surgeon
and myself would witness and which I was to hold for a
day or two till the matter could be gone into.
I left very tired and drove to Inkerman Terrace, giving
the Platelayer a ride. He fell asleep again, being quite
exhausted. I gave both him and the coachman some
beer on our arrival and sent them on to his home.
Went into the house just as the clock struck 2 a.m.
which reminded me that it struck the same hour as I got
up just 24 hours before. I went to bed and slept soundly
When I rose in the morning the Housekeeper informed
me that the front door had been left open all night. I
suppose I forgot it, but no harm was done, so good-bye.
With love as usual. Yours, &c., W.T.N.

26

Inkerman Terrace, Montreal.
May, 1864.
The next morning Hickson, who was a good deal
better, sent to and fro and held a sort of conference and
I was asked to continue to look after the wounded at the
Hospitals and also the other sojourning emigrants who
were in the goods shed at Point St., Charles, the rail
way head quarters, and where the Workshops were,
distant nearly two miles from the City and not far from
the Northern end of the suspended iron tunnel, i.e., the
Victoria Bridge.
Matters went on pretty well for a day or two, but at
the General Hospital nurses, even bad ones, were very
difficult to obtain and worse to retain, as the emigrants
were in a very dirty state and full of vermin from their
six week's voyage in the hold of a Norwegian sailing
ship. The bedding which they brought with them, viz. :
their feather bedsr(which they much prize) and pillows
might almost have walked upstairs by themselves. Dis
infectants, fumigations, &c., were vigourously applied
which made every one cough so that it might have been
taken for an Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, but it was
no go, the parasites flourished, and to make matters rather
worse two or three cases of small-pox broke out. The
nurses refused to stop longer and cleared out ; — the
bedding of two rooms was burnt. But how about the
nursing without nurses ?
The difficulty was got over in a manner which I am
sure you would not guess at in a week, however, I will
give you a week, that is until next mail, to try.
I may state that there are now at work 16 efficient
nurses with a Superintendent by day and a similar

27
number by night, who do their work splendidly without
any apparent fear of the small-pox which has frightened
the nurse and the German Parson away altogether.
My time is fully occupied, a committee sits to hear
and adjust the compensation claims of the convalescent
emigrants in the Freight Shed, of whom a majority
want to get away to the State of Wisconsin to get settled
and be ready for the harvest. A large district in Wis
consin to the north of Milwaukee, is settled almost
exclusively by Germans and Bohemians.
The difficulty of communicating (in their own
language) with, and giving religious comfort to the
Bohemian and Czeckish portion of the emigrants, was
got over by finding an old Polish man, called Zowski,
retired from business, who was already a sort of
missionary attached to a chapel. He spoke Czeckish
and German and bad English ; he was very useful,
especially among the convalescent at Point St. Charles,
nearly one half of whom were Bohemians.
The baggage belonging to the emigrants had been
fished out of the river Richelieu, and brought up and
discharged alongside of the goods shed, but the heat
and the water together produced rapid decomposition,
and the early distribution of the least injured portion
became very necessary. In order to facilitate matters,
each of the three regiments stationed in Montreal, sent
eighteen men and two non-commissioned officers each
night to keep order and assist generally, as the railway
men were only on duty during the day. At this time
there were stationed in Montreal, two battalions of Foot
Guards, brought over in the Great Eastern at the time of
the Trent affair, and the 30th regiment of Foot.
Sunday approached, and the question of a Religious
Service was raised. The German Parson declined to
have anything more to do with the emigrants anywhere,

28

by reason of the three cases of small pox at the General
Hospital. No other German could be found, so the
service was conducted on the Sunday afternoon, by old
Zowski, who read some prayers in German, commencing
with the Lord's Prayer, in which most of the emigrants
joined ; also the third chapter of the Epistle to the Thes-
salonians was also read. Your son conducted the singing
of the Old Hundred to Luther's tune in German, " Nun
"danket alle Gott,"and preached the sermon in German,
from the well known paragraph in the Burial Service, " In
" the midst of life we are in death '' — " Mittem in leben
"finden den Todt."
The audience were much moved and many sank on to
their knees in tears. The Lord's Prayer was again
repeated as a finale. The sermon was a complete success.
On the Monday evening, several special cars full of
emigrants were attached to the express going West,
through to Sarnia and Detroit. Remarks on the conduct
ofthe German Parson are frequent and pungent.
Yours, &c., W.T.N.

29

Inkerman Terrace, Montreal.
May, 1864.
My Dear Father, To return to the Nursing question
the solution of which you have probably not yet guessed,
which fact I shall be unable to learn for nearly three
weeks more yet, when the return mail will be due.
Don't be afraid of this letter, there are no more small
pox cases and the General Hospital has never been so
clean in its life.
At the Hotel Dieu the sufferers were nursed by Nuns,
(the Sisters of Mercy,) and to the great credit of the
authorities ofthe Hotel Dieu, they arranged to send 16
sisters by day and a similar number by night to nurse at
the General Hospital. The ladies came, each batch ac
companied by a Superioress and soon the whole face of
things was changed. A lot of clothing was purchased,
the old clothes were taken off and burnt, the rooms were
swabbed out with chloride of lime, and all the patients
were, more or less, washed.
Of course the patients had been separated according to
sex in different rooms and on different fioors, the females
on the second floor, and in one of the second floor wards
a Sister Rosaline took charge of the orphan baby.
If it had not been for the vigorous cleansing, to which
many of the patients greatly objected, no doubt the small
pox would have progressed, but it was thereby limited to
the three cases who were kept isolated in another part of
the building.
None of the Nuns were the least affected. Sister
Rosaline promenaded on an open gallery with her orphan
foundling, with the baby's head shaded with her black
hood. The other nuns kissed the baby, which was pretty

30

and good tempered and caused some considerable per
plexity to the nuns by its desire to suckle instead of
taking its bottle ; it was a little girl eight or nine months'
old. A wet nurse was found, but Sister Rosaline could
not bear to part with the helpless pet ; however, through
the Matron of the Hospital (a very active sensible lady,
a widow of middle age) an arrangement was come to, for
the wife of one of the Porters, who happened to have a
baby on hand, to assist.
A Special'Commission was nominated by the Canadian
Government, to assess the compensation to be given to
the injured. Two members of the German Society, the
President, (a respectable old gentleman in the fur trade,)
and the contumacious and active member already men
tioned, (he was also in the fur trade, but had not a very
good repute), Hickson and two Government officials, one
being English and one French, were nominated and sat,
and I should have had a seat if I had been of age, which
of course was not the case. Yours, &c., W.T.N.

31

Inkerman Terrace, Montreal,
Tune, 1864.
My Dear Father, As you will have already gathered from
my last four letters, 1 have now been occupied with the
emigrant matter about six weeks, and am glad to say that
nearly all the cases are settled. The baby has a pension ;
the claim of the rascally Bohemian, who had the impudence
to employ a solicitor in his behalf, not daring to put in an
appearance, was dismissed, and the solicitor roundly
scolded for having anything to do with such a rascal,
who just escaped punishment by not having (although
not from any fault of his own) stolen the dying woman's
property. The heat has been great, and in consequence of the
forests on the Ottawa having taking fire and the smoke
therefrom hanging over Montreal, the temperature has
sometimes been up to 103° Fahrenheit in the shade. I
am told I am looking rather pale and thin, and the
Hospital Surgeon says 1 had better take a holiday and
change of air. However, I have just bought a nice little
Canadian horse instead, and go out riding round the
mountain and to Lake Lachine, which is better than a
change of air until it is a little cooler, when I purpose
going West to Blandville, Kingston, Toronto, Hamilton,
Niagara, or as I ought to say " the Falls," and thence
to London, C.W., Detroit, Sarnia and on into the United
States to Milwaukee and Chicago. I find that the
special favour of the authorities of the great Railway
Company here is everything. The case it seems to me
is shortly thus : — The distances in North America being
enormous, and the available means of communication
being as yet, in most cases, far below the requirements of

32
trade, the owners of the various Railway and other similar
Transport Companies (as they are called out here) enjoy
an enormous influence both in the States and also here in
Canada. Here it is jokingly said, that the three chief
authorities are the Governor General, the Commander
of the Forces and the Managing Director of G.T.R.
A further remark is also made that such statement is
quite correct, except that the order might be reversed.
I hear the hoofs of my pretty little Canadian bay horse
or rather mare, coming round from the yard to go for a
ride with the two young Brydges, round the mountain to
the Mile Race Course, which is situate there, where I pur
pose trying the little mare against their crack ponies. A
whole party goes out usually on Saturday, consisting of
Brydes, Hickson, Taylor, of the Bk. of U.C, Yates the
Engineer, Wood the Secretary (who has just learned to
ride), and Jenkins, the European Assurance Chief Agent,
a fellow with very long legs and a very short back. We
put him on my mare a day or two ago, and his feet
nearly touched the ground, but he did not sit as tall
as I do, although when on our feet he is six inches, or
nearly so, taller than myself. Yours, &c ,
W.T.N.

33

Clifton House, Niagara Falls, Canada,
I'jth July, 1864.
My Dear Father,
I have now arrived at the great physical
water attraction of this part of the world. On my road I
stopped at Kingston, one of the oldest towns, where
there is an old fort, which existed before England
acquired Canada from the French. Kingston stands at
the Eastern extremity of Lake Ontario, where the St.
Lawrence leaves it in its course to Montreal. In this
portion of its course it is called the River of the Thousand
Isles ; a number of Isles which have necessitated a great
number of lighthouses in order to render the navigation
safe. I also stopped two nights at Toronto, which is a large
and increasing City and the Capital of Upper Canada, as
also the seat of the Legislature for that Province. It is
situated on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, about
two-thirds along the northern shore going West ; Lake
Ontario is the first of the series of five great lakes in the
course ofthe St. Lawrence ; viz., Ontario, Erie, Hudson,
Michigan and Superior. Lake Ontario is about 170
miles long by 70 miles wide, and very deep.
There is a University at Toronto, in a handsome
modern Gothic building, on a height a few miles back from
the City and surrounded by a beautiful park. A gentleman
to whom I was introduced, lent me a horse, and a party
of us rode out, and, after visiting the University, had a
little galloping and racing across the sward of the Park.
The horse I was on was a curious little well bred chestnut
mare, who bored more than even highly bred horses
usually do, and had a most peculiar trick when galloping
of carrying her nose low down, with her head and neck

34
on one side, so that one saw the ground in front, instead
of the horse's head. However, she could gallop well,
and passed the fastest horses present, even a powerful
horse three inches taller, with only about 7-lbs. in my
favour. On the shore ofthe Lake, there has lately been erected
a large and handsome elevator, used as a store house for
the corn grown in the district, also of that brought down
by the Canadian Northern Railway, which runs from
Toronto Northwards to Lake Simcoe. The Great Western
of Canada (as well as the Northern), joins the Grand
Trunk at Toronto. The Great Western runs from Toronto
South Westward, round the end of Lake Ontario, to
Hamilton, a port at the Western end of the Lake, not
far from the mouth of the Niagara river, in the course
of which the Great Falls occur. From Hamilton the
Great Western runs to Clifton House Station, at Niagara
Falls. About one and a half miles below the Falls, the
Niagara river is crossed by an iron suspension bridge,
which stretches from bank to bank, 800 yards long and
nearly 250 fket above the water, having a roadway under
the railway. One end of the bridge is in Canada and
the other in the United States, and custom's officers are
stationed at either end to endeavour to prevent smuggling.
There are two Waterfalls : the Horse-shoe or Canadian
Fall, by far the larger ofthe two, which is almost exactly
in the course of the river, where the water is 15 feet
thick, and the American Fall, which is almost at right
angles to the Horse-shoe Fall, where the water is much
shallower, but the Fall is a few feet higher. This Fall is
separated from the. other by an island, called Goat
island, round the back of which the waters flow on
their way to the American Fall. The American Fall
is 300 yards and the Horse - shoe 700 yards across.
The Falls join together with a tremendous roar, in

35
a seething cauldron, nearly 200 feet below the perpen-
dical banks, and create several columns of spray, one
of which, between the two Falls, rises like a feathery
fountain about the level of the banks. The Horse-shoe
Fall is twelve miles from where the Niagara river joins
Lake Ontario; the angle of the Horse-shoe has become
more acute of late years, shewing that the current of
water wears away the bed of the river gradually. It
is stated that the Fall originally fell direct into Lake
Ontario, now over twelve miles away ; and that if the
annual wear of the bed of the river could be known, the
age of the Planet on which we live could be calculated
to a certainty ; but as the annual wear has only been
observed a few years, no reliable data exist at present.
The distance from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario is thirty
six miles, viz., twenty four from Buffalo to the Falls, and
twelve miles thence to Lake Ontario. The Welland
Canal joins the two Lakes on the Canadian side.
A path and steps lead down the bank and extend
underneath the waters ofthe Horse-shoe Fall. It is very
wet and rather dingy underneath the Fall, and, except
that you are close to a rapidly falling, roaring mass of
water and foam, fifteen feet thick, which conveys a
great impression of the enormous powers of nature,
there is very little to see. The town on the American
sids is called Suspension Bridge, and chiefly consists
of Hotels, frequented by citizens of the United States,
who consider it a duty to visit the Falls, at least once or
twice during their lives.
A ferry a short distance below the Falls, which is
worked by a little steamer, enables you to cross close to
the foam. The wish of all on board, when they find
themselves in the middle of the river close to the
foaming roaring torrents, is that the machinery of the
steamer niay not break down while they are on board or the

36 boat would certainly be driven down the rapids between
the Falls and the Suspension Bridge and neither steamer
or passengers would ever be seen again. The weight
of the water where the falling mass strikes the river
below is so great that floating articles such as wood
which might come over the Falls would not float but
remain below the surface. A little below the Suspension
Bridge the Niagara River narrows and the crush of waters
is so great that the level of the centre of the river is j ft.
or more higher than the level of the water at the shores,
this phenomenon illustrates the mathematical principle
of a sphere containing more matter than any other form
and also shows the tendency of large bodies of water to
assume a spherical form in the same manner as small
portions which will often run across a tray or other
smooth surface, in globules instead of in a stream.
An American, who was conducting his family and
a party of friends along the south bank at the river
level, (the high banks fall away below the bridge and
allow a narrow shore to exist at their feet) and who
seemed to consider that he could account for all the
peculiar features of nature, when asked why the banks
had narrowed at the point where the centre level was
higher than the sides, explained the matter as follows :
" Why, you see, this occurred at the time of the Flood
when there was clearly less water to run over and there
fore less width was sufficient." Those who heard the
explanation laughed and clapped their hands and one of
them asked "Well then, if it has taken ever since the
flood to wear away two miles ofthe river bed, how many
years did it require to wear away the other lo miles?"
This sounded like a poser, but the Yankee was equal to
the occasion and replied "That at the moment he had not
" either rime or sufficient material (pulling apiece of news-
" paper out of his pocket) to fit up and run out the

37
" necessary calculations, but he intended to take up the
" matter on his return home." The true cause, is 1 believe
that the rocks of the banks were harder at this particular
place and the soil above them on the surface was thinner
so that the water had only rock to wear away.
The geography I learnt from at my first school said
that boats could not descend the Fall without destruction
but that the natives came over with impunity in their
canoes. I learn that two or three canoes are related to
have come over, but that neither canoes nor occupants
were ever seen again. That geography ought to be
revised. I made a trip to Buffalo, which is about 24 miles
west of here, per rail over the Suspension Bridge. Buffalo
is situated at the entrance of the Niagara river, opposite
to Fort Erie, a small town on the Canadian side of the
river, where Lake Erie ends and whence its waters
proceed down the Niagara river and over the Falls to
Niagara, and there join Lake Ontario. Buffalo is the
second city in the State of New York, and is situated at
exactly that point of the Empire State most distant from
the great commercial capital of New York which is on the
Hudson, the opposite side being Jersey City, in the State
of New Jersey, and Brooklyn in the State of Long
Island. The Delaware and Hudson Canal which joins
the waters of Lake Erie to those of the Hudson river
commences at Buffalo. The Canal and the Railway
run parallel, or nearly so, from Albany, on the Hudson,
150 miles above New York, to Rochester, a distance of
230 miles. Rochester is on the Genessee river, 7 miles
from where it falls into Lake Ontario. The Falls there
are three in number, and are 96, 25 and 84 feet in height,
to which must be added the rapids, making the total over
250 feet fall in 7 miles.
Rochester owes its manufacturing eminence to the

38

enormous water power of the Genessee. The Erie Canal
is carried across the Genessee in a cut stone aqueduct,
848 feet long and 45 feet wide. Near Schenectady, 17
miles from Albany, the Troy and Albany branches of the
New York Central Railway join and run on for 130 miles
to Syracuse in one line, then separate again and rejoin
a second time at Rochester, 80 miles further on. The
Southern line goes via Auburn and Canandaigua, and
the Northern one crosses the Mohawk River and Erie
Canal, one a bridge 1000 feet long. At Little Falls,
nearly 100 miles from Albany, the Canal and Railway
pass through a grand and difficult defile. The scenery of
the winding Canal with its locks and of the River with
several rapids and several cascades, is most remarkable.
But to return to Buffalo. It is a very fine city with
above five miles of wharf frontage, fine avenues and a
beautiful parks. It has become prosperous since the
Canal to New York was completed in 1825. The Canal
competes with the New York Central and Erie Railroads
in carrying wheat, &c., down to New York, to be shipped
on board the large transatlantic steamers of the Cunard,
Inman and other lines for Liverpool and other places.
Elevators, Breweries with Malting houses, are numerous.
Corn does not travel in America in sacks, it goes in bulk
both in the railroad goods trucks and also in the lake
sailing and steam vessels and on the canal boats. The
corn is taken at, say Chicago, into an Elevator, or
rather I should say sucked up by one of the spouts,
which act with buckets on a continuous band or chain,
like dredgers ; it goes into an enormous floor and is mixed
with another lot, or many other lots of the same quality.
The qualities are Nos. i, 2 and 3, and the person de
livering receives a receipt for so many quarters (of 480
lbs. each) of No. i, 2 or 3 wheat. This order is like a
Warrant and can be sold at New York, The buyer

39
would present it at New York and be entitled to an equal
number of quarters of the same quality. The chance of
his getting any of the same wheat would be, I should
suppose, very small, and not easily estimated.
An Elevator has a number of sucking arms and
delivering spouts, which extend themselves in various
directions, according to the situations of the wharves
or the railways. One can only compare an Eleva.tor to
that ligly and greedy fish, called Octopus, which has
various tubes all round it, except that an Elevator would
be more properly a sex decemopus, or vignit - opus ;
that is, that it has i6 or 20 arms instead of 8.
The ground rises from where the canal basins are,
as also one or two large Ironworks, to where the Depots
and enormous Freight yards of the various Railways are,
and which seem to run in every direction. Part of the
river bank is 50 or 60 feet above the water, and affords
very good views of the Lake, the City, and the Niagara
river, with its waters rolling on regardless, because per
haps unconscious, ofthe big tumble they will get within
25 miles. Fort Erie and the Canada side, with the
Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway Depot are quite visible.
The Public Park or rather Parks, the Cemetery, and the
grounds of the Lunatic Asylum are all laid out together,
and joined together by handsome tree planted Avenues ;
giving, I was told, a continuous drive of 10 miles or
more. This story looks to me to have been invented
by an inmate of the last named Institution. There are
some squares with trees (squares are unusual in American
Cities) but they give quite a cheerful look to the place,
and reminded me of Ladbroke square ; but there were no
boys playing rounders therein, nor caulking ball. The
children don't seem to move on their legs as fast as
boys in England, nor do they seem to care for active
outdoor games ; perhaps the dryness and heat of the

40

atmosphere is against them. Cricket seems to be in its
infancy, but commencing. I have been cross-examined
hymen, women and children on the subject several times,
as soon as they find out I come from the Old Country.
Except in the Western and Backwood States, the men don't
know much about riding. Many are practising for War
purposes. Some one has invented a saddle for military
purposes, which certainly seems appropriate. The horse
man folds up his blanket into eight thicknesses, puts it
on his horse's back like a saddle cloth, then places the
saddle across and buckles the twisted string or hemp
girths underneath. The saddle consists of a thick piece
of wood, the shape of the centre and half of either side
of a saddle ; this wood has a large long cavity underneath
from front to back, which shews daylight through, except
for 2 inches in front and back. A leather flap is nailed
on to either side, from under which the stirrups come.
The wood is covered sometimes with a piece of leather,
sometimes "not. The effect is that the folded blanket
squeezes itself up into the grove above the horse's back
bone, so that a very slack girthing will prevent the
saddle turning. It is also said that the thick cloth
prevents sore backs.
I returned by the late train to Niagara Falls and
crossed the Suspension Bridge by moonlight. The roar
of the Falls and the indistinctness of the spray and
foam 250 feet down below made everything impressively
mysterious and grander than by sunlight.
On the following day, several of the guests at the
Clifton House, arranged an excursion along the Great
Western line to Niagara, the town at the mouth of that
river on Lake Ontario ; the line runs parallel, or nearly
so, to the Welland Canal. Near Niagara is a monument
rather resembling Nelson's Column, erected to the
memory of Sir Isaac Brock, who commanded in i8iz,

41

on the occasion of a battle with the Americans ; the
gallant General beat them but fell in the fight, which
was a heavy one. It is rather curious that the monument
at Quebec, about 600 miles off, should celebrate another
great battle ; also the fall of the leaders on either side,
Wollf and Montcalm. The struggles must clearly have
been very serious and contested with great determination,
for both generals to be killed.
I purpose leaving to-morrow, via the Great Western
Railway to Paris, and thence, via Buffalo and Lake
Huron, to Stratford where it crosses the Grand Trunk
line, and thence along the latter to Sarnia, a Lake Port
at the head of the Detroit river, or rather strait, where it
leaves Lake Huron.
From Sarnia I purpose going, per steamer to Milwau
kee, in Wisconsin, and thence, per rail, to Chicago, in
Illinois. I am now restored to first-rate condition, and have
enjoyed my stay at and my trips near the Falls very
much, Yours, &c.,
W. T. N.

On Board the Propellor, Wabash,
middle of lake MICHIGAN OR THEREABOUTS,
20th jfnly, 1864.
My Dear Father, Since writing to you from "the Falls," I
came on to Sarnia, as described therein. Sarnia is at
the head of the St. Clair River, where it leaves Lake
Huron; Sarnia is the Western end of the Canadian
portion of the G.T.R., where that line crosses over to

42 Port Huron in Michigan, by means of a large ferry
boat, which carries the cars across bodily, about twelve
at a time, and proceeds thence, about 50 miles sou'-west
to Detroit, where it joins the Michigan Central. Except
the railway arrangements and some harbour accommo
dation, there is nothing at Sarnia.
I embarked on board this boat for Milwaukee, in
Wisconsin, 85 miles north of Chicago.
Before leaving Niagara Falls some curious events
happened, illustrative of the feelings and tastes of the
darkies. In Western Canada, many of the waiters,
cooks, hotel boots and porters, also the hair-dressers and
barbers are darkies ; that is, negroes or descendants of
negroes, who escaped across the United States frontier
before the War and thus obtained their freedom under
the English Flag. They are probably superior to the
ordinary run of negroes that one meets in the States,
following similar occupations. They are mostly quiet,
well - behaved, and industriously endeavour to earn a
living. In the States the northern Yankees, although
they denounce slavery (often I believe quite insincerely)
they treat the darkies as if they were dirt ; speak to
them, swear at them, and abuse them in the loudest and
coarsest terms ; but Englishmen, especially those who
are educated, actuated by the national sentiment of
freedom, are much more civil and sympathetic, especially
with the darkies in Canada, whom they presume, have,
either themselves or their parents, had the courage to run
great risks in order to secure their freedom. At the Clifton
House there was a three-fourths dark youth, who was boots
and assistant generally on the 2nd floor, where my bed
room was situated. He was most assiduous in my case,
polished my boots till I could see myself in them, brushed
my clothes most thoroughly and wrapped them up very
neatly. I was always very civil to him. Two long vul-

43
gar Yankees, who lodged on the same floor, who were
continually expectorating, both in the rooms as they sat
and on the staircase and corridors as they moved about,
treated him very differently ; they always addressed him
with an oath, abused him outrageously, if he did not fetch
them cocktails in an impossible short time ; said he was
the son of a  , calling his mother by an unmentionable
name, and when he contradicted this statement, threatened
to thrash him. On one occasion he was going along the
corridor with some baggage, when one of them shoved
him roughly in passing, telling him that niggers should
get out of the way. The action and assertion were quite
uncalled for, as he was so close to one wall that a large
bag in his hand touched it. I mentioned the matter at
the office as I passed through the hall ; the clerk took a
note of the facts and said that he would inform the "boss"
on his return, but he was out at present However, on
the day we went to Niagara, the matter came to a crisis,
several complaints were lodged as to the filthy manners
and disgusting language of the Yankees ; so the landlord
told them to pack up and clear out. They met this
request with a volley of disgusting abuse, went upstairs,
rang their bell and ordered some liquor. Sambo brought
down the order and was told not to fulfil it, but wait for
the Landlord, who would serve them himself with the bill
and have short payment. The account had already been
made out, and the Landlord taking the precaution to have
his revolver with him, called one of the waiters and went
up, accompanied by the waiter and Sambo. Sambo,
who apparently foresaw a difficulty, ran up first and got
a srick out of a neighbouring room, and was ready for
his portly master before the latter had mounted two
flights. The waiter knocked at the door. A voice
answers, " Who's there." Reply, " Waiter.'' The door
opened, the waiter entered, followed by the Landlord. The

44

Yankee asked the waiter "Where's the liquor? " The
Landlord replied that nothing would be served, until the
bill was paid and handed in the bill. The younger man
on seeing it said, " Oh ! golly, here's a bill." There were no
signs of packing up. There were three packages in the
room, one bag, one bundle and one small bag. The younger
man shewed the bill to the elder man, who asked the
Landlord, " What do you mean by this.'' " I mean to be
paid straight off and have you both out, or all my guests
will leave me." " I ain't got the money," said the younger
man. " Guess I sharn't pay this, nor leave till to-morrow,"
said the elder man. " Yes you will," said the Landlord,
" or be turned out without your baggage, and handed over
to the police as swindlers." " No fear," said the fellow,
insolently, " Guess I'll go when and where I choose."
" Certainly," said the Landlord, " after paying the bill."
Sambo had followed the Landlord in and was standing
close to him, a little to the rear. "You clear out, you
lubbers," said the elder man, in a rough tone, "or I'll make
ye." " No you won't," retorted the Landlord, and put
his hand in his pocket for his revolver. The elder man
fidgetted with his hand near his trousers. Sambo's
quick eyes understood the movement ; he said, in low
tone, to his master, " He got 'volver massa," adding,
" me hit him massa," and shaking the stick. The master
nodded, or did not object, probably the latter ; so Sambo
started out, without more ado, sprang forward and struck
the second Yankee a severe blow with the stick, across the
hand which was in, or partly in, the pistol pocket. The
man pulled out his hand with the revolver in it, with a
cry of pain. Sambo visited the knuckles and fingers
with another sharp blow, which caused the revolver
to fall out of the man's hand. Sambo pounced down
on the revolver and got it before the Yankee could
get it, and presented it at him. " Me volver, Yankee."

45
" Me trash Yankee. Yankee no trash Sambo." The
Landlord called out to Sambo to come back to him and
give him the revolver. Sambo obeyed, with a rather dis
appointed look. The elder Yankee had gone towards
the basin to bathe his hand which was bleeding. Sambo
volunteered to his master, "Me trash udder Yankee, make
him hab dollar," and not being forbidden, dashed at the
younger Yankee savagely, and struck him two sounding
blows, exclaiming, "You call mudder bad name." The
Landlord told the Waiter to stop Sambo ; and to divert
the latter told him to go for two policemen. Sambo
obeyed promptly, but halted a moment at the door. " Me
pay Yankee out. Yankee call mudder bad name." He
handed the waiter the stick, with the recommendation,
" Good 'tick, you trash Yankee, make Yankee hab dollar,"
and departed.
Matters looked bad for the Yankees, so the younger
called to the elder, "1 say Gid (for Gideon) just fork out
and let's be off before the kopers come " (koper is a slang
name it seems for policeman). " You fork our yoursel,''
replied the other, " I've got my hand broke up all thro'
you." " Here gov'nor," said the younger, " here is all I have,' '
handing the Landlord a few dollars in notes and diving
into his pocket and producing some change. The Land
lord and Waiter looked at the notes and declared the
amount to be not nearly one-half. The Yankee had
tried to take up one of the bags, and was just going
through the door when the Landlord went after him ;
the Yankee seemed inclined to run, when the Landlord
called out " Sambo ! Sambo ! " loudly. " All reet, Massa,"
replied the voice from the bottom ofthe stairs. " Me got
gentlemen, dey come with ring and chain." The Yankee
dashed down one flight just as Sambo reached the land
ing. "You no escape, Yan"kee;" cried Sambo, and rushed

46 at the man and tore the bag out of his hand, and swung
it round with a blow on the man's head ; the bag,
Sambo not having a good hold of it, flew over the
banisters and went crash into the Entrance Hall below.
" Oh 1 my poor bag," said the Yankee, who stooped in
order to pick up his wide - a - wake and stood himself
against the wall. "You find dollar" called out Sambo.
" Yes, you had better," chimed in the Landlord, coming
down the stairs, with a revolver in either hand. The
Yankee looked sullen, moved one of his hands up a little
and then put it down again. " He got dollar, Massa, "called
out Sambo. Sambo was right, and the man in despera
tion pulled out some more notes, threw them down and
made a rush downstairs, " 'Top him,'' called Sambo, but
the crowd of servants, &c., collected by the row was too
great to get through easily, especially as the Landlord's
wife urged them also to stop him. He halted six or
seven steps from the bottom. Sambo came down to him
and stood guard. The Landlord counted the notes and
found them equal to more than one-half the bill, so said
" Let him go, but keep the bag.'' Sambo repeated the
order," You go, Yankee, but no bag." The Yankee seemed
inclined to strike Sambo for his persistent hostility, but
his courage failed him and he went on. "Good bye,
Yankee," said Sambo, giving the Yankee a tremendous
kick, exclaiming, " Dat's from mudder, Yankee, Ah ! Ah !
Ah ! Me pay Yankee, call mudder bad name." The man
limped out amid the jeers and hisses of the crowd. The
other one upstairs had been, it seems, advised by the
waiter to square up, or he would likely get six months ;
so he squared up nearly the whole bill, the waiter giving
him credit for the notes first received. He came down
with the bag and the waiter with the bundle ; the money
was handed to the Landlord on the stairs. As he crossed
the Entrance Hall he observed the other bag, and said

47
" That's my bag,"and looking round said, " Where's Sam,"
meaning the other Yankee. "Oh! I'm Sambo," said
Sambo, "Want me some more." This raised a general
laugh, with " Well done ! Sambo." The man stooped to
pick up the bag and dropped it, as his hand would not
hold it, as it fell it rattled. " Why they're all broke," and
hesitated. Some one suggested, " You had better be
moving or you'll be broke too." The Boots got orders
to take the bundle and the bag, and the elder Yankee
departed, very melancholy and probably a wiser man.
The Landlord lost nothing, there were several dollars
over, and a lot of liquor was consumed by the curious
who came to enquire into the disturbance.
Sambo got a present of a dollar or two and went home
to his " mudder," with leave of absence till next morning.
Sambo put on his straw hat, stowed away the notes and
departed, taking the stick from the Waiter. " Me go
shares with mudder, fader always did.''
The next morning Sambo turned up, and contrary to
the predictions of some of the people, was quite sober.
My boots (which were very dirty from climbing up to see
the Brock Monument) came nearly as bright as usual,
and he brought the stick with which he had operated the
day before, with lengthy explanations about his taking it,
and hope " I would not be wild," The stick was a good
sound piece of Canada Oak, which I had acquired during
the hot weather in Montreal. Sambo had rubbed it up.
He handed it to me, but I was not wild and told him he
might keep it as a memorial of his exploits. His bronze
face beamed with delight, but he rather hesitated ; so I
told him I had another one, so that if he took it we
should have one each. This argument relieved his mind,
so with voluminous and very ungrammatical thanks he
departed with my clothes to clean up and get the mud
off. While packing up just before leaving, I wanted the

48

clothes and rang ; the door opened as soon as I had
rung, and in came Sambo, very much out of breath, with
the clothes. It seemed he had found a loose button and
the sleeve lining torn in the scye of the sleeve and had
run with them to his " mudder " to mend , and then run back
again. We packed up most things, and I tendered him
a half dollar, but could get nothing out of him but shakes
ofthe head, as he stood with both hands behind his back.
No tank, massa too good, was his opinion ; so he went,
I was much struck with his abnegation, especially as the
Free Negroes generally in the States, are very careless
and thriftless ; dance and sing, and get drunk in Summer
on Rum, when they have the money, and then in Winter
often die of hunger and cold at the street corners. There
is no Poor Law and Yankees don't give away alms, the
reason being, that as there is plenty of work anyone
can earn enough to live on, they must take the conse
quences of their own wastefulness. It suddenly occurred
to me that I had, among some neckties in the Portman
teau, a red and white silk striped tie ; the colours were
the Danish colours, and the tie had been purchased
to wear on the occasion of the entry of the Princess
Alexandra, on the 7th March, 1863, and had never been
worn but once afterwards. I got the tie and rang ;
Sambo appeared quickly, so to prevent any discussion
I put it round his neck and knotted it, told him to tuck
the end in and have a peep in the glass. Sambo's face
with a smile of delight, shewing all his teeth, was a
picture. "Must tuck in the ends?" enquired Sambo,
whose view was in favour of shewing the whole. I did
not like to thwart him, so I said " Take your choice, and
mind it's only to be worn on Sundays. Come take the port
manteau down." He and the portmanteau went. I finished
strapping the rugs up and then followed. As I walked
along the corridor toward the staircase, I heard a great

49
laughing, giggling and roaring somewhere downstairs,
and on looking over, I saw Sambo about six steps from
the bottom, surrounded above and below by a crowd of
dark faces, housemaids above, cooks, waiters and helpers
below, all in ecstacies over the tie, and roaring and gig.
gling, I went down, they allowed me to pass ; at the
bottom I met the Landlord, looking rather cross. He
remarked, " I don't like to be cross with him after
yesterday, but the whole place will be stopped.'' I
thought a moment, how to get out of the difficulty, and
remembering Sambo's love for his mother, suggested to
the Landlord ; "Tell him to go and shew it to his mother
and leave it with her to be worn only on Sunday after
noons." This was done, Sambo departed and the darkies
returned to their duties.
I proceeded to pay my account at the office ; the
Landlady who was present, reminded, or rather told, the
Landlord that she had heard that it was my stick which
Sambo had used the day before with such effect. " Dear
me," said her husband, " I wondered where he got a stick
so soon and intended to ask him, but forgot to ask him
in the excitement. I have to thank your stick for its
effective protection, yesterday; I hope you have got it
all right." "It's all right," I replied, "but I have not got
it, as I gave it to Sambo. You may depend upon it Sambo
will use it for your protection whenever required." " I
dare say he will ; he is a very nice lad and I'll make him
a waiter for his courage and quickness ; but you see
them poor darkies got so larruped down South, that
thrashing is the chief idea in their heads. You seem to
like him too." "Well, yes, he got the tie because he
declined a half dollar I offered him as a fee in the usual
way.'' " Dear me, that's very curious, darkies don't usually
do that, but he is not quite black ; his story is a romantic
one. His father, a fine looking negro, but not tall,

5°
and his mother (a' mulatto) were slaves on the same
estate, down Kentucky. They were sweet on each other.
It seems that the mulatto girl was to have been a house
servant, which you perhaps don't know means that if she
took the fancy of her owner, or any member of his family,
she would be converted into a concubine. The Overseer
or slave driver, a man of brutal character, also admired
her, and when he heard this, he took an opportunity of
assaulting her when she was out one evening ; she
screamed and resisted. Sambo's father, with whom she
had a meeting near by, and who was lying in wait hidden,
overheard and rushed out with a stake and struck the
Overseer on the head, which rendered him helpless for
awhile. The mother jumped up delighted. It seems
that the Overseer had given her some money a little while
before. She did not wish to become a house servant,
her own mother having been one before her, (hence her
mulatto complexion), and she had been sent up to the
quarters at the Owner's house two days before and got
out on the excuse of fetching some of her clothes ; hence
the assault of the Overseer, who saw his money gone
without value. It seems that she had put together a
scheme of escape and had used the money in a gown, and
had altered and lengthened another ready for Sambo's
father, to convert him into a woman, she being as tall
as he, and she wanted to see him to put the scheme into
execution. It seems likely that the Overseer had had
her watched, and had endeavoured to snatch the last
chance but luckily failed. Sambo's father tied the man's
hands behind his back, and they left him. She told
him that she had the bundle with her, these were the
clothes she went after, as until she found out what the
house quarters were like, she had left them at the slaves'
hut. They immediately made tracks, and after some miles
went into a wood, where the man was dressed up and

51
she stained her face to the same tint as his ; his clothes
were abandoned, and both having some money with them,
for he carried about the little he had got by having been
hired out to another planter the previous year, they went
on. Only one point was deficient and that was that his
shoes were not feminine ; they tried to exchange but
that did not act, so when they arrived at a place some
distance off, she bought a second but larger pair for
herself. The bootmaker was it seems suspicious, and
asked where they came from ; she replied, giving the
name of an estate not far from the real one ; the boot
maker thought it rather far off, but getting an answer
that she was going along with her mistress home, and
should not be back so far as to come to that shop for shoes
for a long time. The shoes were rather a tight fit but
did, and the couple pursued their course on foot, by bye-
ways, living on corn they picked till they came to a
larger town on the Ohio. Here they wisely stopped a
time ; she got some employment and he kept house,
cooked, &c. While here they heard of an advertisement
for a man and a mulatto woman, run away from a certain
estate, with a reward. Of course, if they had been
caught, the man would have been larrupped, or cowhided
almost to death. However, they kept quiet until the
matter was rather stale, and other similar advertisements
had appeared. They again started, having picked up in
condition, crossed the Ohio and went on North. The
time was harvest and labour was wanted. She worked a
few days to get money enough to buy him some male
clothing, and then he got work, and working hard for some
weeks fell ill ; so leaving off they started again, and gradu
ally walked from stage to stage ; stopped and took jobs,
generally apart, as they were now more like the adver
tisement ; he became again ill, so they took steamer, he
acting invalid, with a large handkerchief over part of his

52
face and she as his sister, and succeeded in reaching the
large town, stopped ; she got work, he got better and
work too, and they remained some while, when the
harvest being nearly over, it was necessary to make
the last effort to get over the frontier. They reached
the neighbourhood of Buffalo, and a fisherman on the
banks seemed to guess what they wanted, and offered to
put them on the Canadian side in his boat, pointing out
the boat. They said that they were seeking work. He
offered to take them for ^to, which was much more than
they had left. So they went away, waited till dark, and
then went down to where the man had pointed out the
boat, drew out the fastening and trusted to Providence
to take them safely across the Niagara river. They got
ashore safely, attached the boat and were Free. The
boat was of course looked for, and was returned ; but the
two passengers had moved off and were quietly at a little
Inn. Here the man resumed the female costume, and
they moved further off with their scanty baggage. He
obtained work and got better ; she got washing, and
what we should call charing. They got married ; soon
after which they were taken on by an old farmer ; she as
house servant, he as farm man. The old farmer, with
whom they remained several years, greatly sympathised
with their perseverance and when he died he left them
a little money ; they then came to Niagara with their
baby. Sambo, three years old, and set up a barbers and
tobacco shop, (the man having had to do with the cul
tivation of tobacco in Kentucky) ; the shop did pretty
well, until the bad times in 1857, when she took a cook's
place in a Commercial Hotel and afterwards came here,
and when her husband died, three years or so ago, she
left here, disposed of the tobacco and barber's shop, and
having the promise of the work here, set up as a
laundress and has been very successful. She brought

53
Sambo here nine msuiths ago, and he having been well
brought up I took him and he has done very well, and
I shall be glad to push him on."
This is the Landlord's story of Sambo, which, if I
had not been on board a rather slow plodding propeller,
I should scarcely have found time to narrate.
The Propeller, which means screw steamer, left Sarnia
in the evening and passed Saginaw Bay during the night.
Cape Hurd, where the entrance to Georgian Bay is, which
goes Eastward nearly as far as Lake Simcoe, was just
visible early next morning. Next came the Island of
Great Manitoulin and Drummond Isle, where the River
St. Mary debouches, having come from Sault St. Marie,
at the Sou'-western corner of Lake Superior. This river
forms the means of access and egress to and from that
enormous Lake, the last and largest of the five great
Lakes, (Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior.)
It is as large as Huron and Michigan put together. It
affords water access to a region as yet but little settled.
The land on the Northern shore and at the Western end
is in British North America, and the irregular Southern
shore in Michigan and Wisconsin. Great things are
said of the beauty and ferrility of the region, and it is
predicted, that within ten or fifteen years or so, the Lake
Superior Region and the Red River Country beyond it,
will " be great in the corn line."
After passing the straits of Mackinaw, we entered
Lake Michigan and started to return South, having up
to this time come North and West.
After going a short distance South, Wisconsin is on the
right or Western side of Lake Michigan and Michigan
opposite. Something happened to the bearings of the
crank- shaft, and they easied and a halt of some hours
was made in the middle of the Lake. As the Propellor
was provided with only one mast (the foremast) which

54
possessed a sail, the position in case of bad weather
might have become serious. On Lakes Erie and Huron,
especially the latter, the vessels are entirely out of sight
of land for sometime. The bearings haVing been cooled
by the application of a large quantity of Lake water,
which is very nice and cool, the Propellor proceeded,
After passing the Straits, we had passed several Islands,
called Manitou, and the Steamer halted at a small place in
the largest Island, named Manitout. These Islands are
opposite the entrance of a long Bay, called Green Bay,
which runs southerly, almost parallel to the Lake.
Somewhat further South, and connected with the Bay
by a river, is a Lake called Winnebago, and in this
neighbourhood is a considerable settlement of Bohemians.
This was the district to which a number of the unfortu
nate emigrants, who came to grief at the Richelieu, in
May last, were coming, I wonder how they are getting
on ?
On the Michigan side, nearly opposite to Milwaukee,
is a Port called Grand Haven, A Railroad connected
with the Great Western of Canada, runs from Detroit to
this place, and connects with Milwaukee by means of
steamers across the Lake. As Milwaukee Harbour, at
the mouth of a river of the same name, is now in sight, 1
must close this letter so as to post it on landing.
Yours, &c.,
W. T. N.

55

Walker House, Milwaukee,
22nd jluly, 1864.
My Dear Father, On my arrival here, two days ago, I posted
the letter written on board the Wabash, which was only
a poor sort of boat, of about 180 tons, and a made a very
slow passage. There were about 27 passengers on board,
our berths were limited and so was the diet, but there
were facilities for increasing the latter by purchases of
the Steward.
Milwaukee is built on the rising ground, dissected, or
rather trisected by the river, and another called the
Minowonee, and is I think the prettiest town I have yet
seen. Handsome wide streets. The three divisions are
the East, West and South. The Harbour is the best on
Lake Michigan.
The Milwaukee and St. Paul's Rail Road, which runs
760 miles to St. Paul, in Minnesota, has its head quarters
here and I went to present my introduction to the Chief
Ticket, that is the Traffic Manager, Mr. T  . I found
him a most intelligent man and delighted to see a
Britisher, Now that one is well out West the hospitahty
of the inhabitants increases. He invited me to dinner
for the following day, yesterday Sunday. On Saturday
evening I wandered during the long daylight evening
round about the Harbour and Town. The bricks of
which the houses are built are cream colour, and the
City has been christened "the Cream City ofthe Lakes,"
if the title were made the " Cream of the Cities of the
Lakes," it would be equally deserved.
After going to Church yesterday morning, I walked
out to the suburb on the Eastern side, which is built on
high ground overlooking the Lake. I found the Chief
Ticket's house, also the gentleman himself, his wife and

56
three nice looking children ; a boy, fourteen years old,
and two girls younger.
The Chief Ticket is like his office, neat and accurate
in appearance ; his wife is like her husband, only rather
less precise ; the children also neat, and they behaved at
dinner very quietly for American children. Did not
contradict their parents and insist of having everything
they fancied, utterly ignoring their father and mother,
as is the custom in New York. I was asked various
questions, as to where I had been, and when they learned
that I had been some time in Montreal, I was asked if
I were there when the Emigrant Railway Accident
occurred. I replied in the affirmative, whereupon the
Chief Ticket detailed a fairly accurate account of the
accident. I enquired how he got hold of it. To which he
replied, "Oh! from several ofthe German and Bohemian
Emigrants, who stopped when in Milwankee to rest, on
their way to the district near the Winnebago Lake." The
wife then added some further details, about a widow who
came on later with her husband and baby ; the husband
had been a good deal shaken and bruised, and she had
had the baby at Montreal. I began to wonder what next
and listened intently, so she continued, that the baby
was born at the Depot shortly after the accident ; that
the woman, who was with her husband in a shed, with
a large number of other emigrants who had not been
taken to the Hospital, , was removed by direction of a
youngish man who spoke German, and who told her
that she would be taken care of, that a doctor and a nurse
were coming, &c. She had been very kindly treated,
supplied with linen and good food. She came away
about three weeks afterwards ; her husband being quite
better, and having received some money for loss ot
baggage, which had gone into the river. The young
German visited her several times with the Doctor, and

57
interpreted. Another baby had also been born, but did
not live. She thought the young man was a doctor, but
on the Sunday, her husband told her that, at the prayers
in the shed, the young man preached the sermon. I en
quired if she told his name. Mr.T. , she said something like
Neemich. I replied that sounds like a German name. I
was asked questions by the " T , " as to where 1 had been born
and educated ; whether I had been in France and Germany,
and as to whether I spoke French ; to all of which I
replied in the affirmative. Mrs. C. T. added quickly "And
German?" "Yes, "was the answer. " Did I speak it now?"
"Yes," I answered. So she started in German and en
quired whether I could preach a sermon ; I replied, " Das
wiire etwas schweriges." Did I know what the text had
been ? I asked, " Why do you ask me that question ? "
" Nevermind, justtell me." " Well perhaps I do." "And
you saw the Emigrants, Ja, and the shed,Ja;" this was all
in German. She went on rapidly, " Did you see the Emi
grants in the Hospital, Ja. Did they get mixed ? " " Not
as to sexes," I answered. " I don't mean that, I mean
religions, Ja." Her husband, who did not understand
German, had risen and was standing at the window.
She jumped up and went to him and said, pointing at me,
" I believe that is the Herr Neemich, what's his name."
My name was repeated. " Oh ! that's quite near enough.
Well I never, I've found him out. He would not confess
that he preached the sermon when the German Parson
wouldn't come." "Who told you that?" "Oh! the woman's
husband." They stopped here some days, and I looked
after the woman and baby and talked German to her.
Well ! She was fortunate to fall into such good hands.
The Chief Ticket turned round, knocked the ashes off
his cigar, and said in a grave tone, " Then you are the
young German who took part on the occasion of the
accident." My answer, " I am certainly the young man

58
who took part, but I am not a German." " But how could
you preach a sermon ? " " Well, because I had been five
months in Germany, at Gotha, to learn the language."
I have heard several accounts of the case, what was
the mixing of the religions. Well the case was this,
the number of wounded requiring immediate accom
modation, was greater than either the General Hospital
or the Hotel Dieu could take, so they were to be
sent to both. The two members of the German
Society, who went down with the Mayor to Belceuil,
to the site of the accident, raised the question of
separation by religion, which was unwisely assented to
and created a great deal of bother afterwards. How
were they separated. Well, I used a crucifix, which
came off the neck of one of those who were killed ; simply
by holding it before the Emigrants, it was easy to see
whether they tried to cross themselves or merely bowed,
also, whether they used Latin or German invocations.
"Well, my good young Sir," said the Chief Ticket, coming
across and squeezing my fingers with both hands, " I beg
to congratulate you on your conduct, on the occasion ; "
and, looking with a father's fond look at his only son,
hoped that his son would manifest equal vigour and
courage if an opportunity occurred. I was rather depressed
for the rest of the evening, at the whole of the painful
story being trotted out. I tried to turn the subject, and
luckily tea was announced, after which I suggested
Church ; so the father, the boy and myself went to a
Church, where the psalmody was pretty well done. I
joined in the chants and hymns. The father wanted to
know where I had learnt to sing. I replied " King's
College Chapel." " Dear me, what advantages you young
Englishmen have. How do they sing in English
Churches ? Is it paid for ? " I explained that the
Organist and Bellows Blower had to be paid, the latter

59
without exception ; but that the Choirs were often
voluntary and composed of young men, sons of members
of the congregation, who met to practice once or twice
during the week under the Organist, and then sung
on the Sundays. "What a nice arrangement," said the
Chief Ticket, " and very improving to those who sing."
I now wished him good night, but he insisted that I
must come back to supper. I had to go, but got off soon
after ; wishing his wife good bye, by pleading that I liked
to go to bed early on the Day of Rest.
In this Hotel out West, the waiters have all become
waitresses, which shews that male labour is in great
demand, and there being no textile manufactures, in
which women would be required, they get employed in
situations in which men are usually to be found.
I go off to Chicago, 85 miles South of here, in an hour
Yours, &c.,
W. T. N.

Tremont House, Chicago,
^uly, 1864.
My Dear Father,
I arrived two days ago at this great Western
Food Centre from Milwaukee. The trains on the Chicago
and the North Western Rail Road do their 85 miles
under three hours, which is quick for a Western Rail
Road. On the way the train passes Racine, the City
which ranks next after Milwaukee in the State of
Wisconsin. The situation is somewhat similar to that
of Milwaukee, but prettier ; a river called Root River,
runs into the Lake Michigan, the town being on a
plateau nearly 50-feet above the Lake. Milwaukee and

6o

Racine seem to me to be the most charmingly situated
and most healthy in appearance of all the Lake Towns.
Buffalo is a fine place, but depends a good deal on its
size for its good looks, and its canals and wharves, and
its parks.
Chicago is a fine place and full of handsome buildings,
and is situated on a peculiarly formed piece of land in
the northern corner of the State of Illinois, where that
State touches Lake Michigan for a short distance only.
There is a river called Chicago, hence the name of the
City ; but this river is only a rivulet or creek ofthe Lake,
it extends about half a mile inland and then splits
into two branches, each of which runs about two miles in
opposite directions. North and South, parallel to the Lake.
This peculiar natural dock-like formation, gave exceptional
facilities for loading vessels cheaply. The land was low
and to a considerable extent swampy, and was often
overflowed by the Lake when there were freshets ; and to
overcome this evil, the streets and buildings have been
raised bodily some nine or ten feet. A canal leads from
the South branch of the Chicago to La Salle on the
Illinois river, a tributary of the Mississippi. This river
flows through an extensive corn growing district.
Chicago stands just at the extremity of the watershed,
which separates the vast basins of the St. Lawrence and
the Mississippi ; which situation has, no doubt, together
with the natural dock accommodation and the La Salle
canal, tended to bring the wheat, maize, flour and other
breadstuffs to this extreme point of Lake Michigan,
where water conveyance could be found, and the produce
taken cheaply, either direct to Montreal ; or to Buffalo to
go by the canal to New York, for shipment to Europe.
The small depth of water in some of the St. Lawrence
canals, seems to have tended to divert the traffic to
Buffalo. The country, for a hundred miles or more
around here, is prairie land.

6\
There are several large Railway Depots, used by the
numerous lines which come here. There is the (i)
Chicago and North Western, which is really the Chicago,
Milwaukee and St. Paul ; then (2) the Michigan Central
to Detroit ; (3) the Michigan Southern and Lake Shore
to Buffalo ; (4) the Pittsburg, Fort Wagne and Chicago ;
(5) the IlHnois Central ; (6) the Chicago and St. Louis, a
line, via Springfield (the political capital) and Alton, near
where the Missouri river joins the Mississippi, to St.
Louis ; (7) the Burlington and Quincy, and (8) the Rock
Island Railway. The four last mentioned lines bring in
the breadstuffs to be sent East, either by the Lake
Propellors, or by the lines 2, 3 and 4.
It is said that a more direct line, between New York
and Chicago, to be called the Chicago Air Line, is to be
constructed. The Goods Depots, and their sidings with
the elevators, cover a large area of ground ; the number
of cars, chiefly goods and platform cars, amounts to
thousands. The canal boats and lake vessels lay along
side the wharves, on either side, or better, all the sides
of all the branches ofthe river Chicago ; the total length of
the wharves is, I am told, over 25 miles. This is without
the Lake front which is not yet used. All these extensive
arrangements for the collection of breadstuffs, added to
the enormous productive power of the surrounding States,
and the still more enormotis productive power of the
States and territories lying out West, as yet unsettled
and undeveloped, may, I think, relieve all Britishers (as
we are called here) for any fear in the future of ever
seeing Wheat again gos. per Quarter, as it was under
the old Land Laws.
A Yankee at the Hotel, from near Springfield, who is
acquainted with the President (Abe Lincoln) who hails
from that place, has been doing some tall talk for my
benefit. He says that he and Lincoln (please note the

62

position of the names) so soon as the War be shut up,
will be able to contract to feed the Britishers, Frenchies
and the Germans, if necessary, with Wheat and Maize,
at under Fifteen Dollars gold per Quarter, ex ship, to
Liverpool or anywhere else. He explained that he had
been in England, also at Paris (the favourite European
City for the Yankees) ; but he seemed to have moved
about England and visited Scotland, his visit had given
him an idea that the British tiller had better ease off his
wheat and buy cattle ; that most of the land was better
for cattle than corn, and he would that way save lots of
the plough. He thought, also, that after a while, a good
while, the States would send beef and pork in lots, and
perhaps mutton, but he seemed rather uncertain about
mutton. I enquired, where would the cattle be kept and
fed ? " Oh ! " he replied, " that there was plenty of forest
uncleared in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio ; also in
Canada West." He asked some personal questions, such
as, " What native I was ? " meaning in what county I was
born: "Where I was lamed?" which meant taught:
"could I speak any lingoes beyond English, "&c. He then
went out to the business part of the City. I also went
out, and had a walk round in that portion of the City
nearest the Lake, which had been raised in order to avoid
the freshets.
I found that one of the large Hotels was in process of
getting elevated, and I found my way round to the en
trance underneath, in order to see the method adopted.
Business was carried on as usual. I found that all
the main walls had been cut into and large timbers
inserted to carry them ; these again rested on io8
supports dependent on the original foundation, and
between these two points, io8 powerful screw jacks
were being worked by as many men, who struck the
levers of their respective scfew jacks vk'hen the signal was

6J
given by the leader, making 109, on a bell hung up in
the centre.
The man told me it was an old Chapel bell, which his
father had bought ch3ap, but I could see no mark on it ;
he explained that whereas it formerly only summoned the
people to service, it was now actually the means of
taking them nsarer Heaven, whether they would or not.
Although business was going on in the Hotel as usual,
and I could not find any cracks in the walls of the
superstructure after a careful examination all round. A
large number of buildings have been similarly elevated.
It is certainly most impressive to witness the progress.
Twang goes the Bell, whack go the mallets against
the jack levers, which cause the screws to revolve
slightly, and the hotel, landlord, landlady, guests,
waiters, cooks anJ housemaids, a miscellaneous mixture
of blacks and whites find themselves one-eighth of an
inch nearer Heaven than before. Of course the 108
blows must be repeated 960 times, in order to lift the
building ten feet, so that allowing for a slight loss,
,ioDo X io3 = 108,000 blows are required, besides 1000
twangs on the bell. The bell whose tone is not silvery
certainly, produces a greater dynamical effect on man
kind and matter (in the building and contents) than
any Church or Chapel bsll that ever rang.
The leader, I found, struck ths bell outside with a
rough leaden hammsr, and at rather irregular intervals ;
so it occurred to me to pick up a flat-headed iron hammer
I saw near by, and suggested that he should let me have
three rings.
He promptly consented, and dismounted from the
block he had stood upon. I remained on the ground
and called out, in an audible tone " For three blowi and a
halt, Read-y.'' "Ons!" striking the bsll inside with
the iron hammer, which brought out a boom double as

64

loud as the twang produced by the lead hammer. " You'll
break the bell," said the owner. "Oh! no, it is all right."
I replied, " you did not hit it properly." "Two !" another
boom ; " Three ! " a third boom. Halt !
" That's a good idea," says the leader, " I never could
make them blows go so regular." " All right, we'll try
again," said I, and proceeded again on the same system.
It was found that the three strokes and a halt did more
work and that the men struck more simultaneously ; also
that the one-eighth of an inch was increased to three-
sixteenths. The man was quite taken and greatly pleased.
After feeling up the bell inside, I found, as is customary,
a ring attached to the top, and pointed out to him that the
hammer, which had a string passing through a hole at the
end of the handle, could be made into a clapper and a still
better sound and tone thereby produced. We suspended
the hammer and attached a piece of wire to it, by which
to move it. I found that he did not understand that the
clapper should only strike the bell and not be kept
in contact with it. He had pressed his lead hammer
against the outside and had consequently produced
the discordant twang by stopping the vibration of the
instrument. The booming was not only successful in
elevating the structure, but produced a number of
visitors from the Hotel, who wondered what sort of a
service was going on underground. The visitors being
Yankees were very obtrusive and rather an interference
and a bother. So I suggested, in a loud whisper, to one
of io8 nearest to the bell. "I say Jim, don't you think
that ere beam is giving ? Tipped him a wink. He saw
the dodge, replied "So it are. Better clear out you ere
strangers, case you get squashed flatter than crumpets."
The visitors departed with speed, so did I, after telling
he leader I would calculate up the dynamic effect of the
bell and see him next morning. He hoped I would

65
return soon. I did not do so until the next morning ;
for on my return to the Hotel about dinner time, with a
good appetite, I found on entering the Dining Hall, every
table nearly full. In looking round, rather perplexed, I
saw the Springfield farmer beckoning me to a vacant
seat opposite to him, at a little table. " Here's a seat —
come and feed here. You'll keep some of those chaps
off." His dinner, or rather the first course arrived ; I
ordered ditto to save time. In American Hotels, where
you pay so much, 4, 4J and 5 dollars per day, you eat
your meals in the General Dining Room at certain hours,
and select the dishes from the list.
My dinner arrived and I was asking for some beer,
when my opposite neighbour offered some wine out of a
bottle which stood near him. It is quite a remarkable
event to see a Yankee drink wine at dinner, so I promptly
accepted, and he poured out some bright colored white
wine resembling Rhine wine. I drank some and, being
asked, gave my opinion that I supposed that it was
Catawba, from California ; that it had the flavour,
but wanted the delicacy of Rhine wine, probably from
a want of experience in the manufacture. " How did
you find out about Hocks, or Rhine wines, as you call
them ? " " Oh ! I lived five months in Germany, last
year, to learn the language, and of course met with them
all over." " Well, s'pose you're right. When I was going
along the Rhine, a few years gone by, I saw the grapes,
and I thought as how grapes might grow here, and so
save carriage and duty; so I set em on, on my return,
and a lot of vines were brought over and planted, and the
Catawba they produce aint bad. Oh ! no ! " I assented.
You can't expect to teach people to make wine all at
once, with the skill of those who have practised hundreds
of years. He stated that he had an interest in some
Vine Plantations, and he would stir them up. " Now

66

young man," he said, " if I were going back to my place
near Springfield, I'd carry you orf with me, and run you
over a fine Illinois clearing ; but I'm going to Quincy
to see after a new lot I've got there." I thanked him, and
was sorry that I should not be able to avail myself of
his invitation as I left again the following evening for
Canada. He shook hands and departed, with t'ne remark — "You
young Britishers don't gossip and spit, and take the
words out of my mouth, like them New Yorkers, who
jaw about Wall Street and other such rubbish. Hope I'll
run agin you again, Ta, Ta,"
So soon as he had gone, I went up to my room to go
into the dynamical calculation I had promised to the
Bellringing Hotel raiser,
I found the matter was fuller of details than I had
thought of, but having promised it must be done I
set to work with the aid of my little book of Engineering
Facts and Formulas, which travels in my bag, and the
following calculation will shew the comparative dy
namical effect of the Bell in raising the Building, and
of a Church or Chapel Bell in drawing people to a place
of Worship.
The Hotel is about go-feet square, and five stories
high, about 70 - feet, which gives a surface of ex
ternal wall of 25,200 square feet; or 90 x 4 x 70 =
25,200. Taking four internal partition walls, they would
have square area of a similar number of square feet, or
50,400 feet together. Party-walls of a building of that
class, would average 2i|-inches in thickness, or two and a
half bricks, and internal walls I3j-inches or one and a
half bricks, so multiply the party-wall surface by r95,
and the internal wall by ly^' ^^^ cubical content comes
out 49,140 cubic feet and 27,300 cubic feet respectively,
or a total of 76,4.40 cubic feet.

67
The weight of the building is comprised of the weight
of the main walls, internal and cross walls and their
foundations ; then to that must be added the weight of
the floors, (joists and flooring), ceihng, plaster on walls ;
also of the roof and its slate covering.
Taking the Hotel in quesrion, the total height of wail
it is about 70-feet. The foundations, 6-feet ; the Ease
ment, g-feet; the Ground floor, 1 6-feet ; the ist floor,
15-feet; the 2nd floor, 12-feet ; and the 3rd floor, ii-feet,
or 63-feet in all ; with 15-inches for the thickness of each
floor, equal 6-feet, and i-foot for the coping, total 70-feet.
Foundations — 30^-inches thick, 6-feet below the base
ment walls. Four external walls, 21^-inches thick, on
the average ; three internal walls, i3|-inches thick ; two
cross-walls, 13^-inches thick.
Area, cubical content and weight of foundation.
External Internal Cross
(90 X 4) + (90 X 3) X 6 4- 86 X 2 X 6
(360 + 270) X 6 4- 172 X 6
630 X 6 = 3780 4- 1082 = 4812 sq. feet.
3780 X 2-50 or 3o|-inches = 9601-2
1042 X 1-95 or 2r|-inches =^ 1961- total ii552'2 cb. feet
v/hich at loo-lbs. weight per cubic foot, or bricks laid in
mortar and pointen, = 1,156,220-lbs., or 516-4 tons.
Now take the external walls above the foundation, also
the three internal walls and the two cross walls, and the
four partition walls in the three upper stories.
Four external walls, 90 X 70, of 2| bricks thick on the
average ; three internal walls of 1 1 bricks thick, running
across from side to side and dividing the ground plan into
four divisions ; the front and back divisions, or No. 1 and
No. 4, being 21-feet across, and the two centre ones, or
Nos. 2 and 3, being each 20-feet 6-inches across.
Two cross walls, from front to rear, lo-feet apart and
i\ bricks thick ; these two walls contained the main

68

corridor on the ground floor, and above that, each, as
regards divisions No. i and 4, formed a well hole in
order to light the inner bedrooms of the upper floors, the
staircases. A skylight covered the space between No. i
and No. 4, less the landings at the two staircases.
Allow 5 off the external walls for windows, and J off all
the other walls for doorway and other spaces.
Walls Area Thickness Cubic ft. Nettcub.ft.
4External 90x70x4 = 25200X 1-95 = 49140 — j =34760
3 Internal 86X70X 3 = i95S5>< 'A = 21195— :^= 15896
2 Cross . . 83x70x2 = 1 1620X1^ = 12590 — ^= go53
4Partitn. 83X42X4 = r3g44x -35= 4840 — ^= 3660
4Basemt. 83x10x4= 3320 x -y = 2324 — ^= 1745
Total 64,812
or at loo-lbs. per cubic foot = 6,481,200 lbs.
To the above add the brick arch under the central
corridor, lo-feet wide and go-feet long. The arch at
5-feet radius would be lo-feet multiplied by 1-57, and at
one brick end on, thick, this would be
90 X 10X7 X 1-57 = 2043 cubic ft., at ioo-lbs. = 204,3oo lbs.
20 cubic feet of concrete, per running foot, for filling up
the shoulders ofthe arch,
gives 1800 feet at iig lbs. = 214,200 lbs,
900 sq, feet of 4-inch flagging, at 143-lbs, per cubic foot,
900 X 3 = 300 K 143 = 42,900 lbs.
Taking down the above totals 6,481,200 walls
,, ,, 204,300 arch
,, ,, 214,200 filling in
II ,, 42,900 paving
6,942,600 or 3,100 tons.
Having now ascertained the total weight of the brick
work, there remains the weight of the four floors, (the
ground forming the other floor) joists and planking ; also
the weight ofthe five ceilings and the roof and its slates ;
also the plastering ofthe walls and ceilings.

69
Beginning with the joists : two areas on each of the
four floors of 88-feet long, by 21-feet wide; and two
others 20-feet 6-in. wide only, which allows for the two
cross walls, and taking a 12-inch x 3-inch joists, 22-feet
long, on the average, placed i-foot apart, gives —
88 X 4-feet 3 152 -feet 1408
 r^ — = ^-^TT- =: ~ — = 282 joists.
15 in. i| 5
Each joist 22-feet long, i2-inches deep and 3-inches
thick, contains 5^^ cubic feet of timber, weighing 30-lbs.
per cubic ft., so that the joists would weigh (282 x y) 4
= 6204 cubic feet x 30 = 186,120 lbs. Next the flooring,
with deals i-inch thick and g-inches wide (88 x 22 x 4) 4
= 30,976 square feet,
A square of flooring is 100 superficial feet, and takes
fourteen deals 12-feet long, g-inches wide and i-inch
thick ; so that 30,g76 square feet, or 310 squares would
take 126 square feet of deals ; for each hundred or 39,000
square feet in all, equal to 3,260 cubic feet, multiply at
30-lbs., and the total weight is g7,8oo lbs., add to this
the i86,i20-lbs. for the j^fists, and you have 283,920-lbs.
or 126 tons of timber.
Now take the plastering.
The surfaces of all the walls and ceilings have to be
covered with 5-inch laths and plaster i-inch thick.
On laths 70 square yards can be plastered by using the
plaster made from i cubic yard lime, 2 yards sand, and 3
bushels of hair. Lime weighs 1485 lbs. per cubic yard,
and sand 2700 lbs., and hair 15-lbs. per bushel ; so for
70 square yards, the figures are —
Lime i-yard = 27 cub, ft, X 55-lbs, =1485
Sand 2 ,, „ 54 ,, X 100 ,, ,, 5400
Hair 3-bushels ,. .. x 15 ,, ,, 45
Total 6,g30-lbs,
for each square surface of 70 square yards, or 630 square
feet, practically ii-lbs. per square foot.

7°
A bundle of single fir laths |-inch thick, should be 500
feet, but the average is usually less, say 400-feet. One
bundle of laths and 500 nails, will cover about 4 square
yards, or 36 square feet. 500 nails will weigh, at i-inch
long, about 2-lbs. A bundle of laths, 400-feet long, at
;J-inch thick = loo-feet at i-inch = 1200 square inches,
or rather over 8 cubic feet.
Take the ceilings, of which there are five, and to save
trouble about cornices, and simplify the figures, calculate
the whole area without deducting the spaces occupied by
the walls — go X 90 x 5 = 40,500 square feet.
Now the walls. The surface of the external v/alls will
be as before — 90 x 70 x 4 z= 25,200.
Of the internal walls, which have of course two
surfaces — (86 x 70 x 3) 2 = 36,120.
Of the two cross walls and four partition walls —
83 X 70 X 4 = 23,240
83 X 42 X 8 = 27,838 or 51,128 sq. feet together.
adding the four items of 40,500, 25,200, 36,120 and 51,128
square feet, it gives, for both ceilings and walls, a surface
of 152,948 square feet, or 16,994 square yards, or 243
square surfaces of 70 square yards each. Multiply 238
surfaces into 6,930 lbs., and you have 1,683,990 lbs.,
to this add 2 lbs. for nails in each 36 square feet,
(152,948-^36) 2 = 8,500-lbs. and for laths 8 cubic feet of
wood, weighing 30-lbs. per ft.
(152,948-^36)240= 1,020,000 lbs., and the grand total
is 2,7i2,4go-lbs. or 1221 tons.
There now remains the roof which had two ridges
running from front to back each covering one half of
the building except 5 ft., the tv/o centre walls forming,
except at the front and back, a well hole to light the two
staircases. The main one being in the second division
on the left of the main corridor and the other in the cor
ridor itself, at the 4th division wall.

71
The basis of the roof trusses, which were placed lo ft.
apart, were 40 ft., comprising 19 4- 19 4. i-j^ + i-iV + '-9
= 40 ft. The height of the pitch was 10 ft. on |th, so
that each half truss formed a right angled triangle with a
base of 20 ft. and a perpendicular of 10 ft., the third side
would be the hypotenuese of a parellelogram, having a con
tent of 200 square feet.
The square of the base plus the square of the per
pendicular, equals the square of the hypotenuese and con
versely. 10^ -1- 20^ = length of hypotenuese or rafter,
100 -1- 400 = square root of 500 = 22.36 ft., this length is
required to get the area covered with slates. (90 X 22.36)
4 = 8049.60 square ft. or say 8050 square ft. Slates
weigh 7| to 9 cwt. per 100 square ft. taking Duchesse's,
which are 2 ft. x i ft.. The area of 4 sides of roofing, 90
X 22.5 = 8100 square ft. or 81 squares at 9 cwt. = 729
cwt. or 36 tons 9 cwt.
The tie beam is 12 x 6, being 40-ft. long., therefore each
one contains 40 cubic ft, and as it takes 10 trusses to en
close 9 spaces of 10 ft. each there would be (40 x 2) 10
= 80 X 10 = 800 cubic ft. for the tie beams alone of two
roofs. 20 king posts of 10 ft. long by 6 in. thick would make
100 cubic ft.
40 beams or rafters to complete the triangles, 22.36 ft.
long each. 40 x 22.36 = 89,440 cubic feet.
2 ridge pieces 12 inches deep by 6 inches thick is (90 x 2)
X '5, 180 X 5 that is i cubic ft, to 2 ft. run or go cubic ft,
in all.
Add together the items of timber after putting in a strut
running from the angle of the king post to the truss
beam at its centre, this makes it 11,18 feet long,
40 beams 11. 18 long of 12 inch X 3 inch equals,
40 X I X 25 X II 18 = 40 X 11.43 = 458 cubic feet.
20 Tie beams, 800 cub, ft. — 20 king posts, 100 cub, ft,, 40

73
tnissbeams, 8g4.4 cub. ft. ; 2 ridge beams, go cub. ft. and
40 struts, 458 cub. ft, makes 2342*4 cub. ft. of timber
in all, without the purlins for the support ofthe slates,
weighs 314 tons.
Purlins (bearing nearly 10 feet) made of deals 8 inch x
6 inch and rafters at right angles to these to carry the slates.
The purlins being g.io| feet long and the length of the
principal rafter being 22^ feet long,' 4 purlins would make,
with the ridge beam and the base made, 5 spaces of 4 ft.
6 in. each, so that with g spaces and 4 purlins each
in each side roof there would be 4 sides to 2 roofs and 36
purlins in each of 124 purlins in all, of 4 ft. 6 inches
long = 558.4 running feet at 3 ft. to a cub. ft. = 186
cub. ft.
The slate bars running at right angles between these
would be about 4 ft. 6 inches long and 2 ft. apart, centre
to centre, so that each 10 ft. space between the principal
rafters would take 4 slate bars of 3 inches x 2 inches
between the purlins, 5 times over making 4 x 5 x g for
each of the four sides of roof, or 180 X 4.6 long = 850
running ft. at 8 in. x 2 in. or 24 ft. to a cub. ft. = 35
cub. ft. which added to 186 cub. ft. makes 221 cub. ft.
together or 6630 lbs. or 3 ton.
The main corridor has a pair of glass doors about 7 ft.
within the entrance. First inside on the left is the office.
The bar occupies the ground floor front, on left of door
57 X 21 less the piece 14 X 12 partitioned off from the
office, The Dining Hall is on the opposite side with a
pair of doors for the entrance which are just within the
inner door. The bar door is between the outer and inner
door. The bar has an exit beyond the bar counter through
the first transverse wall into a passage leading to another
door in a side street. Luggage also comes in this way to
go upstairs and conversely, the chief staircase being in
the second division, occupying about one half, with the

73
Boss's private room behind it. The stairs are six ft. long
and very handsome. A second smaller staircase starts
from the 3rd division and goes up and returns by means
of a landing across fhe corridor. Beyond this are sundry
sanitary arrangements, also passages leading right and
left and giving access to some larger rooms, looking out
on the back. There is also a large room beyond the main
staircase, communicating with a back room of similar size.

74

Brantford, Canada West,
^rd August, 1864.

My Dear Father, As my last letter was dated Chicago, you
may wonder at this change of address, but I came the
600 miles to be present, by invitation, on the occasion of
the transfer of the whole line of the Buffalo and Lake
Huron Railway to the Grand Trunk Railv/ay. The
Buffalo and Lake Huron is about 160 miles long, and
extends from Fort Erie, at the upper end of the Niagara
river, where it leaves Lake Erie, and just opposite to Buffalo
to a port called Goderich, on Grand Haven, Lake Huron.
I understand it is proposed to build a bridge across the
Niagara river, between the Buffalo side and Fort Erie,
and thusput the line into physical connectionwiththeNew
York Central, the Erie Railway and the other important
lines, which run into Buffalo. It is circumstantially stated
and so far as I have seen correctly, that one half of the
Empire State of New York still consistsof thevirginforests,
the best trees only having been cut out. If this be the case
with the state of New York, what is the condition of the
other States ? The New England States are probably
more settled than New York (in fact in Massachusetts
the female population exceeds 50 % slightly) but these
States are all of small area. In Ohio (the State which
has its northern boundary on Lake Erie, being really in
continuation westv/ard of New York State, except that a
small piece of the State of Pennsylvania, with the town
of Erie, intervenes). The railway, except where it follows
the course of a river, usually runs in a gap cut through
the forest, about 50 or 60 feet wide. This accounts foi
the scenery on American railways in most places being

75
so monotonous. It is very irksome to see nothing but
pine trees after a few hundred miles, and lo find very
little change when one stops at a depot or crosses a
river, even in tliese cases the eternal forest ever returns,
diversified with flats which have been burnt off and
turned to cultivation.
As one progresses West through Michigan, towards
Vk'isconsin and Chicago, in Illinois, wheat becomes
more generally visible, and from Chicago, north through
Wisconsin to Milwaukee, or S.W., via Alton (near where
the Missouri and Mississippi join) to St. Louis on the
Mississippi in the State of Missouri, corn fields are the
chief objects, until they in their turn graduall}' give
way to the Prairie with its rolling square miles of land
like an ocean in extent, where you can lose yourself, and
not be able from horseback to see any single thing,
physical or natural, between you and the horizon, an
horizon of land instead of water.
But to return to the Amalgamation Festival. The
chief thing was a Dinner in a large Hall, with the Mayor
in the Chair. One of the Members of the Government
was present, also a large assemblage of Railway Directors,
Managers, Traffic Superintendents, Chief Tickets (which
means the Heads of Passenger Traffic Department), En
gineers, both Roadmen and Locomotives.
The whole company drank a large quantity of very bad
sparkling Champagne, with a label resplendent with the
stars and stripes ; the liquor was no doubt manufactured
at New York; they also drank Canada Bourbon whisky,
which is very good. I limited myself to weak whisky
and water. Speeches were made, very long ; the liquor
sent many to sleep and the assembly gradually dis
solved. A party of us v/ent off to the house of the local
doctor, a very nice well informed gentleman, who talked
to us about the locality and the Indians who lived on the

76 Reserve on the Grand River not far off, and introduced
the chief, a gentleman in civilized clothing, half Indian
half Highlander. There was to be an Indian fete under
his presidency next day, about 30 miles off, to be reached
partly per rail, partly by water. We were all invited and
the majority accepted, including myself. We went to
bed ; in the morning there was a very extensive com
plaint of bad headaches and a demand for soda water to
take inside, and water to bathe their heads outside. A
number took an early ride in a waggonette to cool them
selves, I went on the box seat and drove most of the way.
We returned to breakfast at about 10.30, and then the
party made a rendezvous at the Doctor's, and we went
off to the railway depot, to go to the Indian encampment
and fete on the Grand river.
On our arrival we found an extensive collection of
Indians, all clad in miscellaneous garments, clearly
supplied to them from the second-hand shops in Europe.
The leaders of the assembly had a palaver with the Chief
and his Council which ended amicably, although the noise
made in an unknown tongue was considerable. Dinner
was served of fish, venison, baked in the ashes, toasted and
prepared in other ways by the squaws. Beer and whisky
were abundant, and after the Red Skins had imbibed a
certain quantity their legs grew unquiet and they evinced
a disposition to dance. A dance was rapidly arranged
near to a large round bonfire, and the men jumped and
whirled, and galloped, and tossed tomahawks and sticks,
and shrieked and shouted to the music of some pipes,
rather like untuned bagpipes. We were seated on rugs
on the ground near to the rear of the Chief; when
it got dark the Chief retired to his hut, and we all
slept on rugs on the ground in two adjoining huts.
The row and the dancing outside went on till early
morning, although the supply of liquor had been stopped.

77
The squaws were in a minority and did not take much
part in the fete, except in cooking the dinner and
standing round and screaming or cheering, when one of
the men did a double twirl, or another came down with a
bang, through excess of impetuosity and whisky.
The fete was to a certain extent interesting, and
shows that the Indians, when well treated and located on
reservations of land, will employ themselves in fishing
and hunting, and in cultivating some corn and vegetables,
in a rough manner. We returned to the railway, some
went on towards Toronto, via Stratford, where the
Buffalo and Lake Huron joins the Western section of
the G.T.R. ; some of us returned to Brantford where
our baggage lay. Yours, Sec,
W. T. N.

78

Hamilton, Canada West,
5^/} August, 1864.
My Dear Father, After getting our baggage at Brantford
and having a rest, during which I wrote you a letter, the
Indian Chief, dressed in ordinary costume instead of his
kilt, and myself, came on to this place. At the Depot
we met Mr. Hopkins, Governor of the Hudson Bay
Company's territories ; a very quiet, harmless looking
old gentlemen, but with a quick bright eye, which be
tokened that he would be an awkward customer if rubbed
the wrong way. He is the supreme ruler of a consider
able portion of the North American Continent, and has
the power of life and death in his hands. He goes round
annually to visit and inspect all the Company's back
settlements ; the journey is a very long and arduous one,
and is mostly either by canoe or on horseback. His wife
and two daughters were seated on a piece of timber close
under the Depot wall, so as to be in the shade.
Hamilton is a small seaport, I mean Lakeport, at
the West end of Lake Ontario. The Indian Chief, who
resides here, tells me that the streets and avenues are
only few in number, but have luxuriant trees. The ground
is rather low and swampy and ague it seems is prevalent
among the lower classes who work at the Quays. After
a confab with Governor, the Chief took leave ; the
Governor is talking to his wife and daughters, as he is
going away on his tour, and they go somewhere beyond
Toronto, to await his return, some six or eight weeks
hence. I am writing in a Car, which, with some others, will
start in one hour for Detroit, vi& London.

79
I hear the whistle of the incoming Locomotive, but
there is no hurry at present, as there is a lot of unloading
and loading to do ; so I will tell you about the Locos
before closing the letter, in time to post it at the Dep6t.
The Locomotives here have a bell on the top of the
boiler, near the safety-valve ; and when they start they
ring the bell. The whistle is used as a signal for the
breaks and also for the way signals ; the number of
whistles given for the latter to be lowered, varies. Of
course it does not always follow that the signals are
lowered in response to the whistles. Most of the lines
are single and the trains have to pass at certain stations.
Every station does not possess a siding or passing place,
in fact, some of the wayside Dep&ts consist of an old
baggage Car seated on the ground, as if its wheels had
departed and left it behind. This contains the Ticket
Office and the offices of all the other Departments all in
one; also sometimes the Station Master's bedroom.
The trains have, I am told, usually two hours right of
way ; that is, if a train arrives at a stopping place before
the train going the other way arrives to cross, it must
wait up to two hours before it can proceed without the
arrival of the other train. After that it can proceed.
There is no telegraph. Sometimes the rulers of the train
get impatient and run on without waiting ; this is a risky
expedient, as it is not unlikely that the two trains may
meet in the middle ; it is called " running Wild Cat."
While at Montreal, I went out on a trial trip on a
new Locomotive ; the Loco foreman and three others
went, besides the fireman. I was shown the various
levers, and soon saw how the Loco was managed. I
saw one lever leaning against the boiler, as yet un
touched, and enquired about it ; it was explained to be the
reversing lever, necessary to reverse the cylinder slides, so
as to send the driving wheels in the contrary direction

8o

and back the train. The lever could be reversed while the
steam was on, but that was likely to damage the ma
chinery, so it was better to shut off steam and then pull
over the reversing lever. It had a toothed wheel and a
ratchet, by which its position could be regulated, and it
could be used to regulate the cut off of the steam into the
cylinder, so as to save steam and fuel on a level or easy
incline, by cutting off at one-half or three-fourths stroke.
After running about 12 miles at various rates, and
making two stoppages, because one of the driving-wheels
when on a curve, grated against the boiler supply-pipe,
a shanty was arrived at, where a halt was made ; the
party adjourned to the shanty, leaving the Loco by
itself on the line. I found that I was to pay my footing,
so stood a whisky all round, and drank their healths in
whisky and water (only one other diluted his whisky.)
I heard something said about an expectant train. They
proposed to return the compliment in a second glass,
but I went out to the Loco, and stooped down while
on the line beside it, to look where the offending wheel
scraped the pipe. While stooping, I heard the beats of
another Loco at some distance, which was the approach
ing train. It is a curious fact that vibrations can be
heard a much longer distance with the ear close to the
earth, than by standing up. I jumped on the engine,
pulled the whistle cord and called out " here comes the
train." One replied " it's not time yet," the others moved
towards the line. The blowing whistle was replied to by
another whistle not far off coming round a curve out of
the woods. I had already pulled over the reversing lever
and was just turning on the steam. " Leave that alone,
d  you," shouted the foreman, "you'll run the two
together." "All right, no I shan't," I answered, and the
Loco started off backwards at a moderate rate. ' ' Not much
steam," the man shouted, " Only got quarter steam on," I

8i

called back. During this time the men were running
hard alongside of the line to catch the engine and me.
The other Engine had whistled down his brakes, and
was pulHng up, so I shut off steam, and took a short
turn at the tender brake. The men then overtook, rather
blown, and began to climb on ; the first man, the stoker,
was for displacing me, as I had turned back to hold the
steam lever to put on more steam as soon as the lot were
on board. He came to catch hold of the lever, I stopped
him and said," Oh ! no. Stoker take off the brake," and as
he hesitated, added " Look sharp there." He let the brakes
go and I put on steam gradually, and we went off quickly
on our return out of the way of the train. The foreman
ruled that as I had served my time and paid my footing,
and saved them all out of a mess, I should drive, which
I did till near Point St. Charles, when I asked the fore
man to drive, as I did not know the signals for the
switch into the Loco yard,
Time is nearly up, so I must close for this occasion.

Yours, &c.,
W. T, N.

82

Kennard House, Cleveland, Ohio.
August, 1864.
My Dear Father,
Day before yesterday I arrived at Detroit, from Ham
ilton via the Great Western Railway of Canada, passing
London, Canada West, the head quarters of the Great
Western. Detroit is the chief town of the state of Michi
gan and is situated on the Western bank of the Detroit
River which connects Lake Huron with Lake Erie and
also forms the boundary between Canada and the States.
Detroit is at the lower end of the river about 25 miles
from Sarnia, at the upper end near Lake Huron, The
Canadian town opposite Detroit is Windsor. Detroit is
chiefly notable as a great railway centre. The Michigan
Central, which runs from here to Chicago; the line called
Indiana and Toledo, at which town it joins the Michigan
Southern, (another line which runs to Chicago,) the
Grand Trunk, and the Great Western all come here,
and here a large quantity of the bread stuff from the
Western States, bound East, to the European markets,
is distributed for conveyance over the various lines
running East. ' There is much competition and jealousy.
Most of the passenger traffic between New York and
Chicago passes this way, coming either via Suspension
Bridge and thence along the G.W.R. or via Buffalo and
the Lake Shore Line, which runs along the southern or
Ohio shore of Lake Erie, passing Cleveland and Toledo
to Detroit, which is 679 miles from New York by the
nearest line. Chicago is 300 miles further west, except
18 miles which makes it 961 in all, from New York.
Buffalo is 412 miles from New York, Toledo 212 miles
from Buffalo and Detroit 62 miles more.
The wharves, mills, dry docks, ship yards, foundries,
grain elevators, warehouses, and railway departments
extend about five miles along the Detroit river. The

83

City is laid out on two plans, one that of a grand
circus with avenues radiatiijg therefrom and the other
of streets crossing each other at right angles. The
result is some intricacy and a number of triangles at the
junctions of the streets, but many of these are laid out
as gardens, which is a compensation.
After visiting the Railway Depots, where miles and
miles of goods' cars, full and empty, were lying, ' the full
ones bound east and the empty ones bound west, for a
new cargo, I went to dine with one of the Railway
Agents, who was kind enough to ask me, as a fellow
countryman ; he was an Englishman from Yorkshire, and
h.id started life on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway,
and been promoted out here to a good berth. In the
evening I went on board a fine paddle steamer, named
the Morning Star, bound down the river and across
Lake Erie to Cleveland, the Forest City. This steamer,
like most of the passenger steamers, has a walking
beam engine, and was wide and shallow, so as not to
draw much water. The walking beam appears up
above the two stories of cabins. The walking beam
is the same principle as the old pumping and other
engines, invented by Watt. It is curious to see the
ends of the long walking beam going alternately up
and down. Dickens nick-named it a " top-gallant
sawyer." The piston rod connecting bars join one
end to the large steam cylinder, and the connecting rod
at the other end is attached to the crank axle of the
paddles, which causes the latter to revolve, and so propels
the vessel. The Morning Star was a very fine boat, and
ran fast. I stayed on deck until the steamer passed
out of the Detroit River into Lake Erie, and got out of
sight of land, and then went to bed and had a good
sleep. The air on the lake was fresh and agreeable, and
a great relief after the heat of the sun during the day.

84

During the day, while examining some cars furnished
with a new patent axle bearing, and explaining the action
which was beyond the capacity of one of the gentlemen
present, I put my fingers on to the axle box, and nearly
burnt them by contact with the hot metal heated by the
Sun, It is needless to remark that the Yankee contra-
dieted my explanation flatly, until the Manager, my
entertainer came by, and being appealed to, explained
its action exactly as I had done. I twitted the rude
Yankee, who retorted that no one could think of believing
me because I was much too young. One of the others
rejoined that no one ought to listen to him, because
he was a soft head.
The Morning Star made a rapid run, and we found our
selves at Cleveland early in the morning. The Election
of the Delegates sent by each State to choose the
President is occupying attention, and the Lincolnists and
McClennanites are stumping the various States and doing
a great deal of tall talk, mingled with the most terrific
mutual abuse. There is to be a great meeting here this
evening which I purpose attending. I have had a long
walk along the tree - lined Avenues and streets of the
Forest City, and well it deserves its name.
The trees are chiefly maples, and the American ash.
The lattter grows in great plenty in the various forests,
and is largely used to make the light furniture, tool handles
and light vehicles with thin tall wheels, which look all
spokes and no rim. The trees greatly abated the heat.
The appearance of the avenues and streets, with lines of
trees planted on either side between the footpaths and the
roadway, or as they are called here, side walks, (which
seems to me a very clear and understandable word) is
most charming. The Londoners should try trees in the
wider streets, and after five years, if the trees grew well,
no one would raise a word against them. The children

85
as they came out of school were playing, running and
dancing underneath the trees, on their way home. They
are much better and healthier looking than the New
York children, and not so presumptuous and quarrelsome.
Two little girls asked me the time ; I told them 12.45
by Cleveland time, and 12.00 by New York. " Oh ! how
late," said one, "we must run or we shall be late for
dinner ; " so they joined hands, ran across the Avenue
and disappeared down a side street. If it had been
New York, every article of my apparel would have been
criticised by the boys, and rude questions put as to
where I came from.
Coal and Iron are found in the neighbourhood and are
worked near Cleveland. Stone and Marble are also
found. There are manufactories for wooden ware, agri
cultural implements and railroad cars.
The city is divided into two parts, by a river named
Cuyahoga. One portion is called Ohio city. The Ohio
canal, completed in 1834, runs from Lake Erie to the
Ohio river at Portsmouth. Cleveland is on the route of
the Erie Railway, from New York to Chicago. The
Erie Railway starts from Jersey City, on the other side
of the Hudson, and then runs through New Jersey, for
about 30 miles, and then enters New York State; after
running about 200 miles through beautiful scenery, it
crosses the Susquehanna on a viaduct, 1200-feet long
and i2o-feet high, passes Elmira, 274 miles; Hornell-
ville, 332 miles, to Dunkirk, 460 miles, where it joins the
Lake Shore line and goes on to Cleveland, 603 miles.
The Erie line is considered a great engineering triumph,
I will now close this letter and write to you about the
meeting before I start for Cincinatati, via Columbus, the
Capital of the State of Ohio, Yours, &c,,
W. T. N,

86

Kennard House, Cleveland, Ohio,
Sth August, 1864,
My Dear Father, The Meeting, alluded to in my last, was
held at a large hall, and I duly attended ; a Member of the
Senate and two or three Members of Congress were, I
was told, on the platform. The whole of the Hall,
including a gallery, was stuffed full, so tightly, that no
one scarcely could move. Some one attempted to spsak,
being introduced by the local member, when a row arose.
Three people on the platform then tried to speak all
at once ; the row increased, the shouts of the rival sides
drowned all speaking ; some revolver shots were fired
Those on the platform who had intended speaking,
wisely retired, and a man with a revolver in his hand
began, on the platform, with a shout or shriek of " fellow
" citizens of Ohio, order is necessary, I intend to speak
" and I'll shoot anyone who interrupts me, or else my
" friends will." He swept the crowd round with his
revolver and pointed it specially in the direction of the
door, near where I was being squeezed. A move was
made for the door in question, and whether I wished it or
not I was carried in the crowd out through it, and feeling
the fresh air and the increase of space a great relief,
and hearing two more revolver shots, I thought that the
speaking having ceased and the shooting begun, I would
return to the Hotel and pack up for Columbus.
It seems, so far as I could learn, that a number of the
men from the Iron Mines and Works had organized a
demonstration in favour of General Mc Clennan ; the
well-to-do citizens of Ohio being in favour of Lincoln,
Revolvers seem to be more effectually persuasive than
the highest eloquence. So good bye. Yours, &c.,
W. T, N.

87

Inkerman Terrace, Montreal,
29^/8 Oct., 1864,,

My dear Father,
On the 27th, the Delegates from the Maritime
Provinces, who had come up to discuss the question of
the Confederation of all the Provinces with each other,
arrived from Quebec by the steamer, and were received
by a large crowd, headed by the Mayor, were entertained
on the following day by that Worshipful Gentleman, and
after the Dinner went to a grand Ball, given at St.
Lawrence Hall, last evening, in honour of their coming
and of the important question under negociation.
The Delegates comprise Col. Grey, New Brunswick ;
Hon. Mr. Tilley, Mrs. and Miss Tilley, Hon. Mr. Tupper
and Mrs. Tupper, Nova Scotia ; Hon. Mr. Henry, New
foundland. Col. and Mrs. Bernard, and the Hon. Wm.
Mc Dougall with his eldest daughter (who usually goes
in charge of him when his wife does not accompany him)
together with Adolphe Caron, the son of Judge Caron of
Quebec, accompany them as entertainers.
The Ball was very successful, the Montreal ladies
came out in strong force, especially the young ones. The
Hon. Mr. Henry, Attorney General of Newfoundland
who is an eligible bachelor with whiskers, was nearly
danced off his legs.
The Mayor and his daughters (French Canadians) and
other members of the Corporation did their best ; the
Officers of various ranks and regiments attended in full
uniform, which diversified the spectacle ; but some of the
ladies thought that the bright scarlet of the uniforms
was detrimental to the effect of their ball dresses.
I give the Royal Artillery uniform the first place, for

88

elegance of appearance. It consists of a dark blue tunic
with scarlet facing on neck only. Tunic and overalls
trimmed with gold lace. Pouch and sword belt of gold
lace with narrow scarlet line down the centre. Gold
lace pouch with cannon on it, and the motto " Ubique "
(everywhere). Spurs (yellow), with blind rowels for
dancing. The blind rowel is often a pierced half
sovereign in lieu of the brass disk. The head-dress
is a square topped bearskin busby with a red bag hanging
down on the right hand side, and with a white plume
on the left hand side. The gold and red cap lines are
fastened round the busby, and go down behind, being
separated to go round the neck, and terminate in an
aiguillette pendant from the right gold lace shoulder
strap. The Delegates retired early, as they were to go early
next morning per special train to St, Anns, on the
western branch of the Ottawa. The western and main
outlet of the Ottawa falls into the St. Lawrence, at the
western end of the Island of Montreal, between St.
Annes and Vandreuil ; this channel is divided into two
parts, just below St. Annes, by the Island of Pierrot.
From Pierrot to Lachine the St. Lawrence is called
Lake Lachine, and at Caughuawaga, an Indian village
on the south hank of the river, the Lachine Rapids
commence and run down towards Montreal. The Indians
in the above long - named village, make their livings
by piloting canoes, boats and steamers down the rapids.
Steamers with troops on board are not allowed to go
down the rapids, but go through the Beauharnois Canal,
which is eleven miles long, from Lachine to Point St.
Charles, with a lockage of about seventy feet. The
central branch of the Ottawa, flowing at the back
of the Island of Montreal, called Riviere des Prairies,
has rapids in its course ; it is joined at Terrehaute by a

8g

third channel, and these two join the St. Lawrence at
Lachenaie. The Island of Montreal is divided into two districts, one
called Hochelaya, the ancient Indian name of Montreal :
the extreme eastern portion of the town is still called
Hochelaya, and is solely inhabited by the French portion
of the community. Montreal is a corruption of Mont
Royal, the name given by the French settlers to the fine
hill with two crests, on the face of which the City has
been built, and which is now called the Mountain, The
other district is called Jacques Cartier, after the ancient
navigator of St. Malo, who first sailed up the St.
Lawrence, in the i6th century.
Upper Canada was acquired from the French in 1759,
and Lower Canada in 1760, after the victory of General
Wolfe, on the heights of Abraham, at Quebec, The
possession of the whole was guaranteed by the Treaty
of Peace of 1763, Temp. George IIL, Louis XV.
From St Annes, special steamer took the whole party
up the River Ottawa, to the City of the same name,
distant 103 miles from here, in order to view the future
Capital, where the Attorney-General (the Hon. John A.
Macdonald) and the other Members of the Government
were awaiting them.
In the Colonial Governments the Attorney-General is
the head of the Government, or as we should call him
here, the Prime Minister.
I should rather suppose that a First Lord of the
Treasury would be an awkward title in the Colonies,
where the Treasury is often bare, and consequently a
tender point. The Government, or Council of State, is
composed of six members, with the Governor-General as
the President, The six members are, Attorney-General,
Minister of Finance, Minister of Militia, Minister of
Agriculture, Postmaster General and Secretary of State
or Home Secretary.

go

The New Parliament Houses are finished and on
view, and are stated to be very handsome as well as
convenient ; they stand on the northern bank of the
Ottawa, a short distance below the Falls, where the
bank is about 6o-feet high. The visit to Ottawa will be
also attended by the Hon. James Ferrier, a Senator, Mr,
Brydges, his Secretary, and myself as Attache,
The scenery on ths Ottawa, is stated to be very beau
tiful and as it is now the Indian summer (a fine fortnight
in the late Autumn called by that name) and the maple
trees have all turned from green to brown and red, it
ought to be remarkably fine. Yours, &c.,
W, T, N.

9»-

Russell Hotel, Ottawa,
2nd Nov., 1864,
My dear Father, Referring to my last letter concerning the
Delegates from the Maritime Provinces, we all went by
special steamer up the Ottawa, to the City of the same
name. The voyage was most delightful and the scenery
charming. The hills were clad in red and gold from the
colour of the maple trees. The Delegation and the
company on board were welcomed, late in the after
noon on arriving at the landing place, by the Mayor
of Ottawa, several of the Members of the Goverment,
a band who played while a speech was being made and
could not be stopped, and a large crowd. The party
dispersed to various hotels, had dinner and mostly went
to bed.
The City of Ottawa was formerly called Bytown, in
honour of Colonel Bye, R.E., by whom it was laid out in
1827. It was incorporated as the City of Ottawa, in 1854,
and was fixed upon by the Queen as the future Capital
of Canada, in 1858. The Ottawa forms the boundary
between Upper and Lower Canada. The French Cana
dian, i.e., the population who are Roman Catholics,
extend from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, far below Quebec,
as far as the Ottawa.
On the following day, the whole party visited the new
Parliament Buildings, whic'n are very handsome, with a
central tower with pinnacles, two wings, one for the
Senate, one for the Assembly, each having four lower
towers with dormer roofs, decreasing from the upper
edge of the stone work by a very graceful curve ; the
style is gothic, with large pointed arched windows in
the ground floor, and double light windows with two

92

coupled arches in the ist floor. The situation is very fine,
on the bank of the Ottawa river, just below the Falls,
where the bluff is at least 6o-ft. above the river. The
Speaker's residence is at the extreme corner in one of
the towers, and the dining-room has two windows over
looking the Falls ; altogethLT a most charming situation,
and a great contrast to the place now in use at Quebec.
A Luncheon was held in one of the large rooms, at
which two Members of the Government, the Hon. Jno.
A. Macdonald, the Attorney - General, and the Hon.
D'Arcy McGee, made speeches. They are both very
effective speakers. The Hon. Jno. A Macdonald, or
John A. as he is called, bears a very remarkable personal
resemblance to Benjamin Disraeli.
A Ball was given by the citizens of Ottawa, called the
Welcome Ball, in honour of the visit of the Delegates
from the Lower Province.
It was held in the large hall of an Hotel, called the
British, but not yet quite finished, and was most enter
taining and amusing. The Mayor and his better half,
a good lady, fair, fat and forty, of at least fifteen
stone, did the honours. The Mayoress danced square
and round dances, most vigorously, and in one case,
she, and the Hon. Mr. Henry, of Newfoundland,
who was nearly six feet high and stalwart in pro
portion, were going at full speed, when they came
in contact with a young couple ; the effect was, that
the young man went down, his partner went up and
came down into the lap of a lady seated near the
wall, driving the said lady's head against the wooden
partition, with a thump that sounded all over the room.
The lady turned furiously on to the young lady in her
lap, rubbed her head with one hand and pushed the girl
away with the other, who slid off on to the ground and
fainted. The heavy couple maintained their course, and

93
soon not only cleared a passage for themselves, but
caused nearly all the couples to cease dancing and
run into the corners for safety. The leader of the band
wisely closed the dance.
The gentlemen's hats and coats had been left in
exchange for (or as would be said here "against tickets")
in a room under the charge of an official, who turned
out to be an Irishman, who after the guests' supper
was finished got very tight, and when leaving time
came, all applicants for hats, coats, &c , were asked
whether they were the Mayor ; on saying no, he in
formed them that he knew where the Mayor's hat and
coat were, but no one else's, (in point of fact he was
seated upon the coat in the middle of the floor, and had
the hat on his head, when he was not brushing it with
his sleeve). A frightful confusion ensued, people sought
their own articles with ill effect^ the wiser ones returned
to the Ball room and resumed dancing. Nearly every
one had to walk home, as carriages are scarce in
Ottawa at present. The officials of course intervened,
and endeavoured to restore order, but it was too late,
the only things visible were three large heaps of hats and
coats, one in the middle of the floor and two others in
corners. The ladies obtained their cloaks all right, and
were kind enough to lend their conductors their woolly
neckerchiefs, &c , to wear as turbans, for the night was
cold. I got such a covering, and abandoned my hat and
coat till the morrow.
On the following day, after recovering our garments,
visits and excursions were made into the forests, covering
the neighbourhood, and from which the lumber, floated
down the Ottawa and St. Lawrence, to Quebec, is
derived. The trees are cut in Autumn, or the Fall as it is
called here, and eariy Winter ; are hauled in Winter over

94
the snow to the banks of the rivers and creeks, are
launched in the Spring, made into small rafts ; these
small ones, after passing the timber shoots by which
they descend the falls, already mentioned, are united
together to make larger rafts, over 1 50-feet long and
about 30-feet broad, upon which huts for several families
of raftsmen are built, and the whole caravan starts to
float down. They live mostly on fish on the way down,
which they catch from the raft, and carry with them
corn and other kinds of provisions. They are, however,
often very poor until they get to Quebec and receive their
money, when they become often very uproarious, and on
their way per rail in the cars make it most uncomfortable
for the other passengers, by singing, or rather roaring,
quarrelling and fighting, &c. So much for rafts and
raftsmen; but the timber shoots deserve a word. In
order to get the timber down the 6o-feet fall in the
Ottawa, shoots have been constructed on the one side of
the river; these shoots are inclined planes, into which
the rafts float from a dock at the top. Two men usually
go down with a raft, in order to steer it when it shoots
into the river below, and they will take a passenger for a
consideration ; several of us went. You hold on to a
post fixed upright among the timber composing the raft,
and the door of the shoot being opened, the raft, the
water and yourselves, all shoot down at a high rate of
speed, and on reaching the bottom the nose of the raft
rushes under the water and the raft makes a dive for
some distance, and the crew and passengers get wet up
to their middles. One turn each satisfied everybody, as
we had all to go off to the Hotel and change all our
nether integuments, hanging the same up to dry.
To-morrow morning a special train leaves here with
the Delegation party for Toronto, via Prescott ; I shall
only go as far as Prescott, leaving the train there to cross

95

to Ogdensburg on the other side of the St. Lawrence, in
the State of New York, and go thence to New York, so
as to reach the latter in time for the election on the Sth,
ofthe Delegates for the election of the future President.
There are only two candidates, Abe Lincoln, the Presi
dent now in office, and General Mc Clennan, a General
of some note and a favourite with the northern army.
I will write to you from New York, where I purpose
staying at the St. Nicolas Hotel.
After the election I purpose going down the Long
Island Sound to Boston, to see your friend Dr. J., who
has written to invite me, returning to New York for the
Thanksgiving Da}', the 24th November, and then going
on to Washington, returning to Montreal for Xmas.
Yours, &c.,
W. T. N.

96

St. Nicolas Hotel, New York,
gth Nov., 1864.

My Dear Father,
I arrived here on the evening of the 6 th
after a tedious journey from Ottawa via Prescott, where I left
the Delegation from the Maritime Provinces on their way to
Toronto. I parted with some regret from the pleasant party
in order to get to New York in time for the second election
of President Lincoln. From Prescott I crossed by the
ferry to Ogdensburg, in the State of New York, from the
neighbourhood of which is exported, both abroad and also
to New York and other large cities, an enormous quantity
of fruit, apples (Newton pippins) and other gigantic and
most attractive looking varieties, also pears, plums, apricots,
&c. There was an interval of 5 hours at Ogdensburg which
is itself a most uninteresting place. A fellow traveller and
myself hired a single horse buggy and had a drive, but we
could find nothing to see and got fearfully jolted over the
bad tracks ( a very appropriate name by which roads are
called). The train took all night to get about 140 miles to
Plattsburg, on the west or State of New York side of
Lake Champlain, whence the steamers run down past
Burlington, the largest town in the State of Vermont,
(which State lies on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain)
Ticonderoga, &c., to Whitehall, where the water ends.
On the New York State or western shore of the Lake,

97

the hills are clothed with the pristine forests, denuded
only of their best trees. About one-half of the area
of the Empire State of New York is still in this con
dition. The scenery on Lake Champlain is very
charming, although not grand. From Whitehall the
railroad proceeds, via Saratoga, to Troy, the town on
the Hudson nearly opposite to Albany, the Political
Capital of the Empire State. Troy is about 150 milts
north of New York, straight up the Hudson river.
Our night journey was rendered quite sleepless by the
presence in the car of a party of about 20 men belonging
to the army, who had been on leave and were now on
the way back to their regiments. They had been well
filled with whisky before they started, and had brought
a grey hen with them, full of that spirit, and they sang
and drank all night. The chief melody was a new song
connected with the War, called "John Jones," or John
Jones and his Bones. The hero certainly performed
great exploits with his bones, but whether they were
the bones used by black faced minstrels, when perform
ing in England, or a portion of his own anatomy was at
first not very dear. However, as the interminable song,
which has very little tune, went on, it seemed that it
was open to any singer to compose a verse of his own
on the subject. One man, more imaginative than the
others, invented a new verse, which they sang or rather
vociferated and howled, for a couple of hours. It de
scribed how the hero Jones used the knobs of his
thigh bones on the heads of the Southerners, which,
although thick, were cracked as easily as drumheads.
How the hero managed to stand, or whether he sat
during the operation, the verse did not explain. I
heartily wished Jones and his bones far enough, as I
was tired and sleepy ; but it was no use remonstrating,
although a majority were in favour of a little quiet,

98

as the Conductor sympathised with Jones and his
exploits, and would not interfere, so we passed a miser
able night.
From Troy the Hudson River Railroad, which is united
with the New York Central, ran much more swiftly down to
New York, parallel to the Hudson, passing some beautiful
scenery on that river. At West Point, 124 miles from
New York, the river is nearly three miles wide. West
Point is on the opposite or West side, on an elevated
ground, and the Military Academy crowns a hill. Unless
a river is over a mile wide, it is, in the United States,
called a creek.
At the Hotel there arrived, shortly after myself, a telegram
from Montreal announcing that the letter of introduction
from the Foreign Secretary, Earl Russell, to the English
Ambassador, Lord Lyons, as well as some others had come
to hand and had been sent on by post. There arrived also
an individual enquiring at the Hotel for me. I went out
into the Central Hall to see who it was ; it turned out to be
the telegraph clerk who had transmitted the telegrarn, and
what do you suppose he wanted ? Why, the manuscript, as
he called it, that is the autograph of Earl Russell. I told
him that he was an impudent fo3l, that if I cut the signature
off the letter, it would be useless as an introduction, and
farther that he had no right to attempt to make use, for
his own advantage, of information obtained in his official
capacity as a telegraph clerk. He was most rude and per
sistent and followed me about after I had dismissed him
till I appealed to the landlord and related his impertinent
request. Several people at the office overheard ; the landlord
told him to go away and not annoy his guests ; this was con
curred in by all present except one self-sufficient youngish
man, who thought that the letter would do very well without
the signature and that I ought to give it to him, because a
collector of autographs should be consideired. This man

99

was smoking a curious pipe of which he seemed very proud.
I answered, " Perhaps he is a collector of pipes you had
better give him your pipe too," touching it. "What,
take my pipe, why that is downright stealing," he exclaim
ed. His inconsistency created some amusement. One
old fellow of a Quakery look, who hailed it seems from
Philadelphia, said to him, in a solemn voice, " Retire,
young man, and learn better the meaning of mine and
thine." The two slunk away but the man with the pipe
came back to complain that the other fellow wanted his
pipe to start a collection, and would follow him about.
We were all unanimous that a pipe collector deserved
consideration and ought to have all curious pipes, in
cluding the one in question.
Yesterday was the day for the election of the Delegates
who are to select the President for the four years from
April next year.
The candidates were, as you are no doubt aware, Abm.
Lincoln and General Mc Clennan, but the latter has not any
real chance.
The election ofthe Delegates for the choice of the. future
President (ticket No. 1) is tacked on in front of other five
tickets for the election of the Governor and Lieutenant
Governors of each State, ticket No. 2. — of the Members
for Congress, No. 3. — of the Supervisor, No. 4.— of the
Member of the State Assembly, No. 5. — of the Officials
of the City and County, No. 6. — these Officials are eight
in number, viz., the Sheriff, District Attorney, Clerk for
City and County of New York, and four Coroners. Each
Elector is provided with a bundle of these six tickets, or of
six others issued by the opposition.
The six tickets are folded up with that for the President's
Delegates on the top, the six being held together by a small
elastic band. The bundle is long, narrow and thin, as
Yankees usually are themselves.

100
See detailed description here following.

ct

PRESI DENT— Number One."

Folded to size as aboye.
The others follow in succession to No. 6. See contents
printed below.
N.B. — The words above the short black lines are printed
outside the ticket, those below this mark inside.
No. I
For Electors of
PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENTS
OF THE UNITED STATES.

WILLIAM KELLY.
WASHINGTON HUNT.
Here follow names of 31 Republican supporters of the two
above Delegates.

STATE —Number Two.
FOE GOVERNOR:
HORATIO SEYMOUR.
FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR.
DAVID R. FLOYD JONES.
FOR CANAL COMMISSIONER.
JARVIS LORD.
FOR INSPECTOR OP STATE PRISONS,
DAVID B. MoNEIL.

lOI

FOE EEPEESBNTATIVE IN CONaEBSS,
ELIJAH WARD.
Supervisor, No. 4.
FOR SUPERVISOR,
FREDEEIOK REPPER.

ASSEMBLY.— Number Five.

FOR MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY.
SEVENTH DISTEICT.
GEOEGE W. MOETON.
CITY AISTD COUNTY— Number Six.

FOE SHBEIFF OP THE CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YQl^K.
JOHN KELLY.
FOR DISTEICT ATTORNEY.
A. OAKEY HALL.
FOE CLEEK OP THE CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YOEK.
WILLIAM C. CONNEE.
FOR CORONERS IN THE CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW YORK
PHILIP MERKLE.
WILLIAM O'DONNELL.
PHILIP O'HANLON, Jr.
OWEN KEENAN.

102

This is a pretty good dose of voting to do all at once.
There were long tails of people waiting at the receiving holes
of the Shantys where they could register their votes in each
District. In the upper town the voters were respectable,
sober, and quiet; but in the, 4th Ward they were most
drunk and uproarious and required a lot of police. They
violently discussed politics, viz , Republicanism and De
mocracy, and two quarrelled and fired at each other with
revolvers, which weapons are, it seems, very generally
carried ; the effect was that a man, 5 or 6 feet off me, was
wounded in the neck ; and was carried off bleeding.
Placards and flags were numerously displayed (ac
cording to the Yankee expression). One of the placards
requested those concerned " To vote early and vote
" often," This puzzled me greatly, as it seemed to me
that if extensively followed the whole thing would be a
farce ; but I believe that it is but seldom followed, as a
heavy penalty is incurred if the duplicating voter is found
out. One ticket agent wanted me to vote six times, I
pretended to entertain the question, saying that if I
voted three times for either side it would be quite im
partial. This did not suit his views, he wanted all
plumpers for Mc Clellan.
I-'left that neighbourhood without delay, made one or two
calls up town and then went to the Club to hear what the
better classes had to say.
As the excitement here is great and violence very
prevalent, I purpose departing to-morrow, per Steamer,
down the Long Island Sound to New London, and
thence per rail to Boston, returning here before the 24th,
which is the Thanksgiving Day and the great domestic
festival of the year. It ranks next after Independence
Day, which is the 4th July ; the Declaration having been
read and proclaimed on 4th July, 1776, at Philadelphia.
Yours, &c , W.T.N.

I03

Revere House, Boston,
12th Nov., 1864.
My DEAR Father, In accordance with what was said in my
last letter, I left New York on the evening of the loth,
by one of the splendid double decked steamers, which
run between New York and New London, and thence
per rail to Boston. The route gives an excellent view
of the City of New York, of the Harbour, of Brooklyn and
ofthe shore of Long Island and of the Islands in the East
River. The steamer had accommodation for about 200
passengers, each with cabins ; meals were served on
board in the saloon to such as ordered them, and in the
evening a band of itinerant musicians performed. The
Sound extends as far as Point St. Judith where it enters
the Atlantic, and where the quiet waters of the Sound
are changed for the stormy waters of the Ocean. At
New London the passengers for Boston mount the cars
to go, per rail, via Stonington and Providence, to
Boston. The distance is about 220 miles altogether
about 120 by water, and 100 by land.
The behaviour of a number of the passengers on board,
especially that of some of the ladies, was noisy and
flippant, and the flirtations carried on were very nu
merous and many of them much too pronounced.
When we reached the wider part of the Sound, I went
to bed to get out of the noise and excitement, wishing
to have a little peace, the Election Excitement at New
York having inclined me to a change to a quieter place
like Boston.
We arrived at New London about 3 a.m , and then
reached Boston before 8 a.m., after a much more pleasant
ride than usual on railroads in the U.S. In the New

104

England States the forests have been cleared, and the
views of the fertile valleys and hills, with chimneys here
and there denoting factories, is pleasing to English eyes,
by its more homelike appearance, to that of long stretches
of forest gaps through which the railroads run for hours
together further West.
Soon after my arrival I went to call on your friend Dr.
Jarvis, who was most friendly and polite. He enquired
how long I should stay. I told him about a week, so he
invited me to go out to the suburb, where he and Mrs.
Jarvis resided, to dine with them on the Sunday. He
said we must arrange a plan to visit the various places
of interest round about, and gave me an introduction
to a leading Professor at Cambridge University or Har
vard College, which is about three miles from Boston,
also a letter to the Governor of the State, who also
lived near Cambridge.
A Mr. H. whom I had met several times in Montreal
was connected with an old and leading family here
named Howe. The Howes have a Glass Works and
Mrs. Howe has a reputation as an authoress. Dr.
J. went with me to call, and we found the Montreal
Mr. H. there. Mrs. Howe seemed well acquainted with
your name, and was most kind and hospitable and
gave me a general invitation to take tea and spend my
evenings there, as I should probably find the Revere
House uninteresting and dull. I went to dinner the
same day and met Mr. Howe, his son and three
daughters, handsome, cultivated and refined young
ladies, and a most agreeable contrast to ths New York
fashionable Misses. I also met with something which
I did not quite expect on this side of the Atlantic, to
wit. Family Pride. The Howes were descendants of
early settlers, and the whole family, especially the
daughters, turned up their noses at the mere mention

105

of a New Yorker. The dwellers at New York they
considered as unknown upstarts, of doubtful Origin, and
as people of small cultivation and with vulgar habits.
No doubt the well to do classes of the Bostonians and
a large number of the manufacturers in Massachusetts,
at Lowell (the Cotton Mill centre) and other places, are
much better educated than the general run of Yankees,
who are mostly the sons, or in some cases the grand
sons of settlers, who arrived in the States with their
clothes and a small bag only. The system of State
education was started eariy in the New England States
and has produced excellent results. The contiguity of
the Harvard College may also have had its effect on the
Bostonians, they seem to know that they are a superior
article, and they with genuine American independence
and pride of feeling take care to keep the fact before
you. At Boston, one certainly felt much nearer the
mother country, both mentally and physically ; the
Yankee twang was much less apparent and frequently
absent altogether. Their domestic system, their method
of eating and drinking, their manners, their clothing,
and lastly their climate, (which has a little damp in it,)
resemble the customs and manners of Old England
much more than those in any other place. I am told,
however, that a similar feeling of family pride also pre
vails strongly in Philadelphia.
Boston, as the place where the Revolution first
commenced, by throwing the Tea overboard, in 1773,
and Philadelphia (where the Declaration of Independence
was proclaimed, on the 4th July, 1776) consider them
selves the aristocratic Cities and entitled to look down
on all the places of later origin.
However, " retournons u, nos moutons." I visited the
Glass factory, and saw in their, various processes, articles
of glass adapted for general use, also others of ornament,

io6.

many of the latter both formed and engraved with great
elegance and skill.
I went to Harvard and saw the Professor, with whom
w^as a son who had been down to the War and was home
for awhile on sick leave.
The Professor and his son took me through the Halls
and Buildings at Harvard and kept me to dinner. The
Professor, his wife and family (the latter were somewhat
more youthful than the Howes) were cultivated people,
who resided in a nice little house, in a plain sort of
English style, not unlike the manner in which an Oxford
tutor lives. I partook with the family of a plain dinner,
of a joint of meat and apple pie, a thing I had not seen
since I left the Mersey. Cambridge University or
Harvard College is entirely Unitarian, and so also is
Boston to a large extent. The Professor took me to the
Governor's house, the Governor was out, presiding at
some- meeting or other, but the Lady- Governor or
Governoress, or whatever her title may be — (I am
forgetting that the American Constitution does not men
tion titles ; however, they have crept in, especially since
the breaking out of the War, and now Generals, Colonels,
Majors, Captains, &c. are all addressed according to their
rank : the Senators are all called Honourables, in the
same manner as the Members of the Upper Chambers
in the various English Colonies.) — trotted me over her
garden and kitchen garden, wherein flowers, shrubs, fruits
and vegetables abounded in luxuriafice. I was invited to
dinner for the next day, and went of course, On this
occasion the Governor was present, a fine looking, portly
elderly gentleman, with white hair and whiskers, and very
unlike the general run of lean and sallow Yankees. I
addressed him as "Your Excellency." I had rather
gathered, during my conversation with the Professor and
others, that Governors of States were somewhat nettled

I07

at the abundance of people formerly insignificant, who
were now styled Generals and Colonels, &c., although
destitute of military knowledge, but for having raised a
certain number of men for the War and other similar
reasons. Both a General and Colonel (but neither of any
military note) were present at the dinner, and the
Governor seemed to appreciate the fact that I had duly
noted the difference between him and them, and had
placed him in his proper position.
As the joke seemed to go down very well, and as
the Colonel who sat opposite me knew nothing about
military matters, his manners also differing greatly from
what is usual in an officer and gentleman, I thought I
would keep it up, so when we went to the Drawing
Room, I spoke to the Governor's wife of her husband,
mentioning him as His Excellency and addressed her as
Her Ladyship. I had obviously hit the right nail on the
head, and when the General spoke to her as " Ma-am,"
she answered him as " Mr." and enquired of him how his
candle factory was getting on. It seems he was a large
manufacturer in that line. He was described as " great
on grease and tallow."
Some musical pieces on the piano were well performed,
two of the ladies also sang nicely.
Those of. the party who were residing in Boston, were
driven home in a carriage of the Governor's, which
landed me at the Revere House, where I purpose
remaining a few days longer, in order to visit Dr. and
Mrs. Jarvis, as well as go over, with the former, a
Prison and a Lunatic Asylum, of both of which he is
the Visiting Physician. Yours, &c ,
W.T.N,

io8

Revere House, Boston,
November, 1864.
My Dear Father, On Sunday I duly went to dine
with Dr. and Mrs. J., and found them a nice quiet
and intelligent old cosy couple. It seems that Dr. J.
" belonged Kentucky," as the saying is here, that is, he
was a native of Louisville, and having there made a
reputation as an adviser in Mental Disease, what we
vulgarly call a"' mad doctor," removed to Boston, where a
more extensive sphere of usefulness presented itself.
He is a visitor of two Lunatic Asylums, also of a
Prison, all in Boston, and of several Asylums in
various towns in the New England States.
In accordance with arrangements made, I went to
Dr. J 's. chambers or consulting rooms, and thence ac
companied him, first to a prison, very similar to that at
Holloway in its arrangements as also in its rules, and
afterwards to a private Lunatic Asylum. The Institution
comprised several buildings, and was occupied by those
who could pay or be paid for.
One house was occupied by a middle aged gentleman
with whom we took lunch ; he seemed all right enough
and was most polite and quiet. The party comprised
himself, his Secretary, Dr. J. and myself, and we talked
of the War and of American Politics, and the host joined
or rather led the conversation, in a very intelligent
manner. Except by strict observation of a wandering of
the eyes and a clutching motion in the fingers of the left
hand, there was nothing particular about him ; but it
seemed that he was subject to periodical fits of violence
which sometimes necessitated assistance being given to
his Secretary (alias Keeper).

I09
Dr. J. took me into the Ladies Department, and during
my visit here I became convinced that elderly female
lunatics are a caution and to be avoided.
After going through several Wards, which were gradu
ated according to the means of the occupants, we went
to an upper floor, where dwelt five elderly ladies with two
ladies' maids, (they acted in the same capacity as the
Secretary when necessary). While in their room, the Dr.
was called down to see a patient who was in a bad fit, but
I remained. The ladies stared at me, asked questions,
which I answered very cautiously in a nasal twang, till
suddenly one of them, who was it seems a widow,
jumped up, seized me by the arm, shrieked out, " Why
" that's my long lost son who went to the Wars," seized
me forcibly round the neck and embraced me with kisses
and tears.
The " ladies' maid " on duty looked alarmed at me, and
shook her head and put her hands down, with a peculiar
motion, which I understood meant I should not resist.
I took the hint and acted my part. "A-al'l reet Mar-r," said
I ; " I've been an got back you see." "Ain't hurt, are you ? "
said she, feeling me on the shoulders and back, to see
if any bones were broken. "Ah ! no 1 " I said, which
soothed her. So I said, "let's sit down and I'll tell you
all about the War and General Mc Clennan." So we sat
down together on a sofa, the other old Ladies gathered
round to listen, and she kept a grip round me, her
twitching fingers digging into my side in a tender part,
rather painfully. However, I began to hem and to ha,
and to hesitate and to look down, and to try to blush.
So she urged me, " Wa-all my dear boy, what is it on
your mind ? " The ladies' maid had rung the bell for her
colleague and had sent for Dr. J., who entered at this
moment, looking very grave, however I gave him a
comforting nod and said " all right Sar," and turned to

I IO
the old lady and said, "wa-11 Marr dear, there's something
else I want to tell you different from the War.'' " Wa-11,
" dear boy, what is it." " Wa-11 Marr dear, you see it's
raythur a delicate subject." " Dear me, what can it be,"
interposed one of the old ladies, with a violent movement
of her fan. So I looked down, and then suddenly said,
"Wa-11 Marr dear, I've been and gone and got spliced since
I saw you." Oh Mys ! and great astonishment all round.
Dr. J. looked uneasy, I gave him a quieting look, and
proceeded. "Such a nice pretty gall, wouldn't you like to
see her ? " " Oh ! yes," they all called in a general chorus.
"I'll go and fetch her then," I said; so I got up and
walked slowly towards the door, which ladies' maid
No. 2 opened. Dr. J. gave me a thankful and pleased
look, so I passed out, and he followed.
He patted me on the shoulder, and said " very well
done ; but where's the young woman,'' smiling ; " here or
in Europe?" I caught the idea, and said I think she would
be safer in Europe ; you had better return and inform my
dear Marr, that I have gone down to the harbour, to sail
by the boat that goes this afternoon. " Good idea, so I
will," and he turned. I said quietly, " wait a minute, let
me get clear off", down this stair first ; " he replied, '¦ Oh 1
yes," and I tripped on my toes quickly and quietly down
tbe stair, saying, " I'll go to the Porter's room," a room I
had seen near the entrance, and wait; "All right," he said,
and turned to go back to the old ladies room. He joined
me in about lo minutes, looking relieved but grave. I
don't think he had had a good time of it. My Marr was not
impatient, but one of the cute old ladies asked sharply,
"but where's he going to sail to?" "Oh! down the
coast," answered the Doctor, and continuing the subject
with the skill of his speciality, "to Atlantic City, where
his wife is enjoying sea bathing." " Don't believe it," says
the suspicious bid woman. But my Marr, thinking that

Ill

this was a slur on my veracity, snapped at her and told
her to shut up, it was she who told lies, not I. It
seems that the other old lady was given to invent im
probable stories on all sorts of subjects. The Doctor,
with judicious skill, suggested to my Marr, that she
would probably like to remove from her present residence
and go to another, to prepare a nice place for me and
my new wife.
She assented with delight, he offered his arm and
led her out to another set of apartments a floor lower..
As it happened, a room near by was being repaired and
was nearly clear of furniture, so she was led in, and it was
suggested by the Doctor, seconded by the ladies' maid,
that it would give her much pleasure, no doubt, to fit up
the room for our accommodation on our return. She
and the ladies' maid are talking at a great rate as to the
furniture and articles necessary. So she is happy and
quite lucid at present, and the Doctor hopes that it may,
perhaps, restore her mind, if they can only keep it up
long enough to prevent a violent reaction. I suggested
that I had better depart before I got into any more
scrapes. Dr. J. thought I had not done badly, and had
already, in about half a day, got a mother and a wife.
So I shook hands and hoped he would take care of them
for me, as I was not of age and my means were small.
He smiled and nodded and we parted, he calling out to
say, " I am going to the Howes this evening, to talk about
the Sailor's fare, will you be there ? " " Oh ! certainly "
I said, " I have a general invitation from Mrs. Howe for
any, or every evening." When I got outside, I began to
feel somewhat giddy, from the excitement I suppose, and
called a vehicle from a neighbouring stand to drive me to
the Revere House, where I went up to my room, bathed
my head and sat down to reflect on the whole matter,
I felt very curious as to how the old lady would get on,

113

and although it was done under a necessity, I did not
quite like having deceived her. The idea of a wife was
a matter I had never comtemplated before, being only
nineteen, and I came to the conclusion that I would
postpone the matter for six years, if not longer.
After taking a stroll down to the Harbour, to divert
myself, and having a little to eat in the dining hall, I
went out to walk to the Howes to tea, but here I got
into a difficulty. I thought I had to go some way along
the main street and then turn up a little hill to the right ;
so I walked on as straight as the street or streets per
mitted, and in about fourteen minutes found myself
exactly opposite where I started from. The streets form
it seems nearly a semi-circle. I returned to the Hotel
and asked the clerk in the office if there was a plan of
Boston in the Hotel. He told me there was none, but
that I could get one for half a dollar down the street. I
went down the street, found a shop and paid half a dollar
for a plan, took it to an Hotel, and found on examination
that it was an old one and quite useless.

113

New York Hotel, New York,
26th Nov., 1864.
My dear Father,
The 24th was the Thanksgiving Day, which is kept
with some ceremony and solemnity — as a sort of sub
stitute for Christmas Day, which is not kept. Turkey
is the favourite dish for the celebration, and I assisted
in curtailing one at the house of Mr. Archibald, the
British Consul-General, who resides in West 52nd Street.
The system of calling streets by numbers seems
peculiar, but has its advantages, as it enables anyone,
including strangers, to estimate the distance and relative
position of the various houses and streets.
The general arrangement of the Avenues (which run at
right angles to the streets) and the streets is very simple.
New York is built on a triangular island, called Man
hattan Island, running into the Hudson River, some seven
miles from Sandy Hook, where the Hudson joins the sea.
The Haarlem, a small river, runs across the base of the
triangle and completes the insulation of Manhattan Island.
The extreme point of the triangle is occupied by an old
fort called " The Battery," which name it bore when the
flag of England flew over it. Running up the island, or
more properly, peninsula, which gradually widens, there
are nine avenues, viz. : Broadway, in the centre, starting
straight from the Battery; Avenues No. i, 2, 3, and 4,
on the right or Eastern side of Broadway, and Avenues
5, 6, 7, and 8 on the left or Western side. Broadway
bends Westward after loth Street, and crosses 5th, 6th,
7th and Sth Avenues diagonally, terminating at 59th
Street, Sth Avenue. The streets, except those in the
lower end of the Broadway, such as Wall Street, where
the Stock Exchange is carried on, are numbered, and

114

run up 152nd West Street and 154th East Street, or
thereabouts, — the fact of their being East or West
being determined accordingly as they lie East or West
of the road leading in continuation of Broadway to the
Central Park, which will some day be a fine park, when
the trees grow up, but is now a vacant lot, laid out
and plant-ed. It has a lake, a ride, drives, and the various
accessories usual to civilized parks. Fifth Avenue con
sists entirely of fine private mansions, as also does
Madi"on Avenue, on the other side of Broadway. The
houses in Streets East and West, 20 to 46, are nearly
all residential.
Yesterday, or rather last night and early to-day, Saturday
morning, was a time that will long be remembered in New
York. I went to the Academy of Music, that is the Opora,
with the Vails (Mr. and his two daughters) and during the
performance, about 9 p.m., a most mysterious thinning took
place among the audience who occupied the stalls and the
boxes ; messengers came, whispered something, and the
person addressed started, took up his hat and coat and
promptly or even hurriedly departed, generally without say
ing a word about the news.
It however crept out that several Hotels were on fire, also
Barnum's Museum, and that fires were breaking out in
various places clearly of an incendiary character.
It seems that there had been a mysterious report that the
Southerners, as a desperate method of retaliation had sent
emissaries into the Northern Cities to set the large buildings
on fire. The Astor House, St. Nicolas, Fifth Avenue, and
Howard Hotels were on fire, but report said that the fires
had in two or three cases been easily extinguished. The
papers this morning give the number of the room, 137, set
fire to in the St. Nicolas Hotel, which was the room I
occupied in that Hotel when previously in New York. I
am now at the New York Hotel in Broadway, or rather

"5

in a house in a side street belonging to it. All the Hotels
are very full just nov/ by reason of Thanksgiving Day and
I could not find roo.n at the .St. Nicolas. We left the
Opera House and I thought it best not to go near the
Hotel as my clothes were not in it but across the street
A New York fire usually means a row between the fire
brigade and the roughs and often a little firing free with
revolvers, so I went to the Union Club in Union Square,
on the books of which I had been entered as a member
for a month.
I stopped there till i a.m. and then walked home by the
b.ick streets, avoiding Broadway. I found a large and excited
crowd in the front of the Hotel, also a force of police. The
crowd having a notion that the incendiaries had their head
quarters at that Hotel seemed disposed to do damage.
About 2.30 a fire was announced somewhere up-town and
the bulk of the crowd departed to visit it, so I went to bed,
but cannot say I slept. I had packed up nearly all my
traps, and I left the blind up so as to get early sight of any
glare from the hotel building opposite. No fire, however,
took place there, from which many deduced that this
was by reason of the emissaries being there. I avoided
going in and got my breakfast at an eating - house
some way off. Since I came to New York I have been
very busy, and as I think I am safer out of the streets to-
diy I will send you a good long letter. I went to Brooklyn
tj visit Mr. and Mrs. H. M. B^acli ; they have two boys,
and nothing would satisfy the elder, a lad about 14 years
o'd, than to go to the army as a drummer boy, so, to his
parent's great grief, he has gone. He is all right so far.
Brooklyn is a handsome suburb of New York, situated at
the West end of Long Island, on rising ground. It was
originaly settled in 1625, near Wallobout Bay by a party of
Walloons (from the Netheriands) and during the revolu
tionary war, the battle of Long Island was fought in 176,

ii6

on the heights behind the town at which the Americans
were severely defeated. There is a beautiful drive along a
Boulevard, 80 feet wide, from Prospect Park to Ocean
Parkway, 2^ miles on the sea shore, opposite Coney Island.
Mr. S.  , a gentlemen to whom Mr. H. M. Beach intro
duced me, interests himself in educational matters and took
me to two of the State schools. They seem to be con
ducted in an attractive and successful manner as regards
teaching strictly on the secular principle. Object lessons
are used, the children, both boys and girls, are clean, but
lack the ruddy hue and healthy plumpness of English
children. The school rooms are large and generally high and the
classes often contain a large number, say between one and
two hundred, which seems to me rather too many; but the
children are kept in order by the assistants. In the girl's
school, instead of the girls wandering in piecemeal, they
collect in an adjoining lobby, deposit their outer clothing,
and get their books, and then come tripping in in four rows
sideways through two large doors to a dance tune played on
a piano on the platform. This system seems to successfully
get over the disputes about places so very usual in many
English schools. The rows of benches with narrow desks
in front were very quickly occupied and the lesson com
menced. The Wharves on both sides of the Riyer Hudson, which
is over one mile wide, are very extensive, especially those on
the Jersey City side where the Transatlantic steamers all
lie and land their passengers on their arrival. This is very
inconvenient to the latter who have to hire one of the two-
horse broughams to take them across the steam ferry and
up Broadway to their hotels. These carriages charge high
fares. Tramways are laid on all the Avenues but are not allowed
on Broadway. They come down the various avenues and

117
then turn into a street leading to Broadway, halting close
to the latter. There are some omnibuses in Broadway,
running to the Central Park, which are worked solely by
the driver, who has a leathern strap running along the roof
to a loop round his foot, by which he opens and closes
the door ; each passenger has to pay as soon as he enters.
Tricks are sometimes played by wedging the strap where
it passes through its grove in jhe roof, the driver believes
the door to be shut, as the strap seems tight, and the
omnibus full ; but when he turns round he probably finds
the strap cut, the door wide open, and the omni'ous empty
except one sleepy old lady, and that he has been refusing
passengers when nearly empty.
Mr. P., an influential merchant here, who lives in a
handsome house in Madison Avenue, to whom I was intro
duced, takes much pains to inform me as to the virtues and
advantages of the Yankees and the defects of the Britishers.
He has a tall opinion of himself and his powers of con
versation and says that Britishers are a glum lot and without
powers of conversation. I went to call at his house and
found that Mrs. P. was a Scotchwoman, her Glasgow accent
was quite a treat and a relief from the nasal twang in use in
New York generally. I remarked upon her nationality which
obviously pleased her, she said she was a Macintosh and
I was invited to dinner for the following day. Mr. P. and
an adult son, who was as glum and silent as a Britisher, was
present, also a daughter about 18, who beat her father out
and out in powers of conversation ; she talked so much and
so fast that between them no one else got a word in. I
listened quietly for some time to various disquisitions, all
directed at the Britishers, their language, manners, educa
tion, &c. I got rathed tired of this and started a turn with
Mrs. P. as to whether there were any other Macintoshes in
New York, this set her off and stopped the daughter, she
explained that she was the most notable and ancient Mac-

ii8

Intosh in the' United States. She prided herself at having
preserved herorigiiyil accent as against the nasal method
prevailing generally. She expressed great pride in her
ancient lineage, whereat Mr. P. got tired of being silent and
announced that he belonged to the Royal family of Adam
and appealed to me as to whether he did not greatly
resemble in his position and kingdom that man of ancient
days. Thus called upon I remarked that I saw one point
of resemblance and one point of contrast, ist, that his
Kingdom was like that of Adam, limited to his own
family ; 2nd, that his costume in no way resembled
that of Adam, but was in every way most refined and
correct. Mr. P. at first looked gratified as he prided
himself greatly on his coats which were made at Paris
and on " the sweet things in vests " which he bought at
the extensive marble halls of the great draper and outfitter
Stuart, in Broadway ; but when he saw that Mrs. P.
laughed at the contrast between his costume and Adam's,
that the silent adult son booed spasmodically, that the
daughter stopped her rapid tongue to giggle heartily, he ar
rived slowly at the conclusion that he had been made fun of;
however he admitted that" I had him there " and that I was
the first Britisher who ever exhibited any powers of convers
ation worth mentioning. This was no doubt gratifying but
the opinion is not, in my eyes, worth much. He stroked
caressingly the broad white expanse of " the sweet thing in
vests," surveyed the face of a large gold French watch,
and the party adjourned to the drawing room.
Mr. Strong, the Chairman ofthe Sanitary Commission,
an Institution supported by Voluntary Contributions, and
directed to better and improve the condition of the
wounded, and soldiers generally on service at the War,
lives with his wife and two children in Union Square,
near to the Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Ruggles, Mrs. Strong is
an Englishwoman, tall and ladylike, and is a very leading

ng
and fashionable lady. She rides on horseback, which
is not very usual among New York ladies, and is
delighted to have gentlemen to ride with her. The
Commandant of New York, an elderly Colonel, rides in
the Central Park with her, and she invited me, after
finding out I was a Yorkshireman, to accompany them ;
so I fished up a horse, and went v/ith them next day.
The horse was a hard mouthed animal and fresh, so I
suggested a canter ; Mrs S. was quite agreeable, and
went off into a canter and then into a gallop ; the poor
Colonel was soon left behind, and we went at a gallop
nearly round the Park, I should say two miles. It was
a fine cold day. We found the Colonel again where
we started from, looking very cross and obviously very
chilly, from the colour of his nose.
We went back to Union Square, where the Colonel
was confronted with two cocktails, made by the man
servant. Now cocktails have nothing to do with
cocks and hens, a cocktail is a mixture of spirits,
bitters and water, and is very popular in the various
Hotel bars, frequented by the gentlemen of various
ages. The Americans but seldom drink wine at meals,
but take drinks, such as cocktails, mint julep, sherry
cobbler and other mixtures with curious names during
the morning and afternoon, and I think that this
unhealty custom, as well as that of eating very fast,
(say four courses in ten or twelve minutes,) as also that
of taking all sorts of dishes, including sweets for break
fast, accounts for the sallow complexion of the middle
class, as also the prevalence of dyspepsia, followed by
an enormous consumption of pills and bitters, which
are largely advertised on every wall ; by largely I mean
to include both size as well as frequency. Holloway's
and Parr's Pills appear in gigantic letters, they no doubt
do a very large business in the United States.

I20

At Breakfast a dish called Buckwheat Cake and
Molasses is usually employed as a finale. Buckwheat
Cakes are hot thin crumpets made of the small black
wheat, and Molasses means a fine juice of sugar, much
brighter in colour than English treacle, and of a better
flavour. The Americans consume a large quantity of sweets
and sweetened condiments, and the trade from the Sugar
Islands in the West Indies to the United States is very
considerable, as also that in raisins from Spain.
I may as well here describe that important element in
American railway locomotion, viz., a Railroad Car, pro
nounced " Keer." It is a sort of exaggerated omnibus,
varying from 60 to sometimes n.early 100 feet long. The
railroads (except those in Canada, which are of the s-feet
6-inches, Irish guage) are all of the old Stevenson
guage of 4-feet 8^-inches. The body of the Car, is
about 8-feet wide and 9-feet high, sometimes with a
ventilating roof in the centre, about 8-inches higher,
which has numerous little side windows suspended on
their centres which cant thereon when open.
There are two doors, either sliding or shutting, one at
either end, and next to these are two places for sanitary
purposes ; ladies one end, gentlemen the other. Next
comes a filter of iced water, and I heartily wish the iced
water filter could be done away with, for it is the cause
of a great nuisance. The ladies and children drink
enormous quantities of iced water, in fact never seem
to cease drinking when on board of railroad cars. There
is a passage down the centre of the car, on either side of
which are benches constructed for two persons. These
benches have hard stuffed seats and backs, which latter
rise no higher than one's neck. They are in most cases
reversible, so that you can, by reversing one back, make
a sort of coupee for four persons seated opposite to each

121

other, otherwise all the backs run in one direction, and the
passengers sit as if in portions of pews on either side of
a narrow side aisle, in a Methodist Chapel. The side
windows have sun shutters ; that is a frame with narrow
wooden bars, fixed at an angle of 45°, very like a Venetian
blind, but much smaller. The Yankees often keep the
windows unnecessarily shut, which creates a heat and a
sort of sour odour, very similar to that to be smelt at
a Ragged School, crowded with children of uncertain
personal cleanliness.
The Cars run on two trucks, placed each under the
Car near to either end. The cars rest on two centre
pivots which are in the centre of the frame of each truck,
there are also metal rubbing pieces on the outer edges
of the truck-frames, in order to support similar rubbing
pieces fixed underneath the sides of the Car over those
on the trucks. The distance between the pivots and the
radial motion allowed by them enables the Cars to run
round very sharp curves safely. In some of the Cities
the Cars are drawn through the streets to some other
Railroad by horses, and the rectangular corners of the
streets are turned. I'he motion is curious, the leading
truck, if the turning is to the left, begins to go round
the corner, but the car ends proceeds nearly straight on
until the truck has gone round the curve when it suddenly
developes a motion sideways and follows its leading truck.
During the turning on a sharp curve the truck will be at
an angle of sometimes 35° with the body of the Car. The
trucks have always at least four wheels, two on either side,
generally cast iron wheels chilled in a patent fashion which
renders them very strong and nearly as hard as steel ; the
axles are of wrought iron and project through the wheels as
on English railways and support the cross superstructure of
the trucks on the centre of which the strong iron pivot is
fastened, on which the body of the great Car rests.

122

Chains are attached to the body of the Car and to each
corner of the trucks to prevent the latter from revolving
too far under the Car, but if the truck leave the rails, it
often turns round almost to a right angle, the chains being
torn out and broken. The truck arrangement is intended
to spread the bearing surface so that the weight on the
rails is distributed.
The weight of the Locomotives is similarly dispersed,
the fore part runs on a bogie with four quite small wheels,
then follow the driving wheels, usually tv/o on either side
coupled by an external coupling bar at the ends of the
cranks, as in England. Most of the Locomotives have
outside cylinders, that is the cylinders are not under
the boilers as in the old Locomotives, but outside on
either side. This gives cylinders of greater diameter
and enables the valves to be outside also ; but it renders
the motion of the engine less steady as each cylinder
is at its greatest power when the other cylinder is at
its least power, the cranks are 90° or ^th of circle the
one behind the other, so that one piston is in the
middle of its stroke when the other is beginning or
ending. The piston has to travel up and down the
cylinder for one revolution of the crank, so that twice the
length of the crank from, the centre of the axle is equal to
the available length of the cylinder. The tenders run on
two bogies.
The breaks are on the end platforms of the Cars and
are worked by a revolving wheel which has a ratchet
to prevent its running back. Some of the locomotives are
fitted with an axle on the engine with two small rough
wheels which can be brought into contact with the
driving wheel by means of a lever worked by the engine-
driver ; the contact with the driving wheels causes the
axle to revolve and twists up a chain attached thereto,
which chain runs along under all the Cars and is attached

123

to their respective breaks. This arrangement enables
the driver to put on the breaks by the aid of the driving
wheels, which, of course, continue to revolve some long
distance after steam is shut off, and thus the momentum
of the train is made to consume and reduce itse}f till the
train comes to a halt. The lever is then lifted and the
axle revolves and the chain is drawn back by the tension
of the breaks, so that the latter get clear of the wheels by
the loosening ofthe chain. The system works I am told
very fairly, but the chain is liable to snap if the tension
is put on too suddenly and too strongl}'.
The distribution of the weight both of Locomotives and
XDars over a large surface is rendered necessary by the
light nature of the rails, sleepers, and track on all but the
Great Trunk I'nes. The rails do not usually exceed 60 lbs.
per yard or thereabouts and are sometimes under 60
lbs. ; the rails on English lines are between 70 lbs.
and 80 lbs. and sometimes the double heads exceed
80 lbs. per yard. Rails are, of course, dearer here than
in England, in fact are chiefly derived from the mother
country and have an import duty to pay here on arrival.
The duty has enabled the Yankees to erect and open
rail-mills to make for themselves, but, of course, the extra
price comes out ofthe pockets of the railway companies.
The rails are fastened to cross ties, called in England
sleepers. The flat bottomed rails which are the most
common, by means of bolts through the bottom flanges
or by nails. The earthworks are usuall}'- slight and the
lines follow the surface of the country, running up hill
and down dale according to the nature of the surface.
The gradients are consequently often very severe, i to 60
is considered here "quite mild" and some are double
that. This is another reason why the Car system is
adopted, i e., in order to carry the largest number of
passengers with the least dead weight. The dead weight

124

comprises the Locomotive (which seems rather a con
tradiction of terms when it provides the tractive power)
the Cars and baggage cars, and the officials. A Car here
will take from 60 to nearly 100 passengers or equal to 10
first-class compartments of English railway carriages, or
if you mix 1st and 2nd and put into ea:h compartment 6
persons, it would require 7^ compartments, and as the
English carriages have only three or four compartments
each, that it would be equal to two carriages to a small
car. The cars have no spring buffers at either end, but have
a centre hollow buffer projecting but very slightly beyond
the end platforms ; these centre buffers are attached, or
linked up by an elongated link, which enters the mouth
of either centre buffer, and is retained there by dropping
two iron pins through either end of the link. These pins,
when the train is not in tension, can be lifted easily, and
cases have been known where passengers have lifted a
pin and left the cars, in rear of the pin, behind altogether.
A car is, no doubt, a ready means of transporting a large
number of passengers, all crowded together, in a long
and narrow saloon ; but there are disadvantages, there is
no privacy, nowhere to rest and sleep, the fellow passen
gers and their children can walk up and down the middle
aisle at their pleasure, and keep every one in a state of
look out after all their property which is not in the
baggage van.
When you put baggage into the van, you get from the
Baggage Master a brass check, about the size of a penny,
the check has a slit in it, through which is passed a thin
leather with a slit in one end, this leather is attached to a
duplicate check, and the duplicate is hung on to the
several articles of baggage, by passing the leather behind
the cord or handle, and then slipping the check through
the slit, — this hitches the check safely on to the luggage.

125

On your arrival at your destination, you need not wait to
claim your luggage, but go to the Hotel, give the check
to the Railway Porter of the Hotel, who will go to
the Depot and exchange it against the duplicate slung
on to the luggage. The initials of the name of the
Railway Company or Companies over whose line or lines
you are travelling, are stamped on both checks. A check
from New York to Chicago varies according to the route
taken, but in all cases it is quite an essay. In one case
it would be marked H.R.R.R., N.Y.C.R.R., L.S.R.R.,
with a number thereto ; meaning Hudson River Rail
Road, New York Central Rail Road, and Lake Shore
Rail Road. The first line extends from New York to Troy,
150 miles ; the second crosses the river to Albany, and
runs on to Buffalo, 280 miles ; the Lake Shore and
Michigan Southern runs from Buffalo to Chicago, 540
miles. The Michigan Central runs from Detroit to
Chicago, 282 miles ; and a line runs from Detroit to
Toledo, 62 miles, on the Lake Shore line. The Bag
gage Checks by the Suspension Bridge route would be
N.R.R.R., N.Y.C.R.R., G.W.R.R., M.C.R.R.
I think that the foregoing pretty well exhausts the
railway plant question as regards passenger trains ; the
goods, minerals, corn, &c., I will treat on another
occasion. There is, of course, in this Republic, only one class
of car, viz., the ist class. In Canada there are a few
2nd and 3rd class cars, for the raftsmen and the rough
customers, but here of course all the world are the equals
of each other. All extreme Radicals should come and
try fourteen days constant railroad travelling here, and
they will undoubtedly return regular true blue Tories.
Everyone fends for himself, and impudence and sharp
practice of course gain the day, against decent honesty
and good manners. The men, or as I suppose I must

126

call them gents, " expectorate considerable," whereby the
floors are not improved ; and if a window happens to be
two or three inches open at the top, they expectorate across
you through the aperture, and if you remonstrate, you
are put down by a statement " that they guess they are
safe at that distance." In order to prove their equality,
the more presuming ones address, or rather attack,
any of those who look quiet and harmless and un
provided with revolvers, ask questions about hats and
clothing ; look over a book or paper you may be reading,
and if remonstrated with, their surrounders declare them
to be in the right, as they " are doing a politeness."
On some lines men come on board with magazines
and books to sell, and if you buy one, take care you keep
it in your pocket and write your initials on it ; for if you
take a doze by leaning your head against the side of the
car, one of the children or one of the men, will take up a
book lying on the seat beside you, or even in your lap,
move to a seat some way off to read it ; when you wake
up, if you take a round to recover it, on seeing it and
asking for it as yours, you are told it is not, but that the
reader has found it. It often requires great firmness and
courage to get it back again, unless you have a party with
you. While travelling between Chicago and Detroit, I
bought a book, and when the cars stopped (the word train
is unknown) at Kalamazoo, where time for refreshments
is allowed, I left it in a corner seat in the car, covered with
my travelling cap, and on going back found them both
gone, and the seat occupied by a stout lady, I informed
her that I had been sitting there all day, and had left my
book and cap on it in order to retain it,— she said that
nothing was there when she entered the car. Her hus
band, a respectable elderly individual, opined that no doubt
some of the children or passengers had purloined them,
I went along the car and found my cap on the head of a

127
dirty boy, who was, it seems, travelling with his parents,
a vulgar impudent couple ; the mother was reading the
book ; but, as I approached-, she ceased, and put the
book under her dress to hide it. I had written my initials
very clearly on the first page. I asked for it, but she
denied having any book, — I said " I saw you reading my
book, which has a blue cover, and I demand its return."
"You shut up and go away," said the husband. " Not
without my book," was my reply. I took possession of
my book, and while holding it up, to shew those looking ¦
on, that my statement was correct, the husband, who
had risen to his feet, seized it with both hands, and pulled
at it fiercely. 1 held on for a moment, and then suddenly
let it go ; whereupon the man went violently down on the
seat. The book had fallen, so I asked the husband of
the lady who had taken my seat, to pick it up, which he
did, stating, solemnly, after looking at the initials on
the first page, "It is clearly yours, and ought not to have
been dishonestly removed." I was retiring when some
one said — "Oh! but there is the cap also." I took the
cap off the boy's head, but immediately threw it at him.
¦' Here, keep the cap," said I, "but I'llhave this straw
h.at as compensation," and took up the husband's straw
hat, which had fallen off when he bumped down. "Oh !
but it's a new one,'' said the wife ; " S3 much the better,
it will be clean," was my reply. " Sarve em right,"
said one. '• You keep your fingers from picking and
stealing," said another, to the lad. Another, who ap
parently took more interest in the scuffle, said to the
man, " Guess you got nearly scragged." 'I'he man, who
it seemed was of German origin, growled, and turning to
his boy, commanded hiin to go and get him some water.
The lad said " No, I sharnt," sulkily. His father rose
and gave him a sound box of the ears, whereat he howled,
—the father's breath was still only partly restored; he

128

sat down again, saying " water, water," which hearing,
I took him a glass, gave him some and then handed the
glass to the wife, and proceeded to open the window.
The water and the air brought him round. He sat
awhile looking very gloomy and scowling at his wife and
boy, and then broke out into violent vituperarions against
them both, for stealing Books and Caps, and getting him
nearly choked, and losing him his new straw hat.
I had gone back to the end of the car, with the gentle
man and the book, his stout wife offered to vacate my
seat, which offer I firmly declined, but sat down near.
The gentleman was looking grave, and remarked — " 1
guess, young man, that you are an Englishman. Are
you out here on business ? " •
I replied that after being educated at King's College,
London, I had been sent out to America and Canada by
my father to travel and finish my education and get the
rough edges taken off. " I am sorry that you should have
the tale of the pilfering of your property of to-day to carry
back with you to the old country.'' I replied, that of course
one could not expect very refined manners in the mixed
community which travels in American Railroad Cars, but
no doubt as time went on manners would improve. " Pro
bably you have travelled in Europe ? " I replied that I
had travelled through Northern and Southern Germany,
Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Wurtemburg, up the Rhine and
down the Danube, also in Belgium and France. " Did
you ever meet with a similar case to that of to-day ? "
" Never, nor heard of one." To finish this subject, I
asked the gentleman to return the straw hat to the
man, with my sympathies for the trouble caused him,
by the misconduct of his wife and boy. He assented and
delivered the hat ; the man was much pleased, and sent
a message apologising for the way I had been treated ;
it had been quite unknown, to him, and he had been

I2g
asleep, or he would have interfered. The gentleman
returned, and uttered words in approval of my conduct
in returning the hat, as chivalrous and befitting an
educated Englishman We conversed more or less until
we arrived at Detroit, where we disembarked, he shook
hands, as did the lady, with thanks for the seat. The
gentleman gave me his card from which I learnt that he
resided at Albany (New York) and was a member of the
New York State Legislature He invited me to call if I
happened to stop in Albany.

Yours, &c.,
W. T. N.

I30

Oil City, Pennsylvania,
2rd December, 1864.
My dear Father,
You will see by the heading that I
am at the chief town of the Oil Region. I left Phila
delphia on Wednesday evening and travelled through to
Corry (the junction of the Philadelphia and Erie, and
the Atlantic & Great Western railways), where I arrived
about 5 P.M. on Thursday. I then went on by the Oil
Creek railway, a branch line of the Atlantic and Great
Western, to Titusville, the town situated highest up Oil
Creek, being about twenty miles above its confluence
with the Alleghany river. Titusville is a very thriving
little town, with a good many wells in the neighbourhood,
but mostly rather poor pumping wells, giving from five
to fifty barrels per day, the average being about fifteen
per day. Titusville is about fifteen miles from Corry.
The railway continues down the Creek, for six miles, to
a place called Shaffer's Farm. The Oil Creek is a
stream about the size of the river Lea, formerly clear and
limpid, but now oily and odoriferous. Above Titusville
are a number of ponds, in which the water is collected
and confined by means of dams, which are opened once
a week ; this influx of water called a "Pond Freshet,"
raises the water in the river, and enables the laden oil
barges to go down. At Shaffer's Farm, one can either
ride down to Oil City, or come down the Creek by boat ;
I took the latter course, and very much wish I had taken
the former, for yesterday I was eight hours on the river,
in an open flat boat, coming sixteen miles. I did not get
here till nearly 9 p.m., nearly four hours after dark. It
was one of the biggest swindles I ever saw. The boat
man collected the dollars all round, and just as it was

13'

getting dark, landed about eight miles above Oil City,
leaving only a lad, who did not know the river. The
boat constantly required four people to steer it, and some
times six. We had a very heavy load when we left
Shaffer's Farm, and got aground before we were out of
sight of the landing-place, and remained there nearly an
hour. The boats in use here are very similar to the flat
boats on the Danube. The one we were in was about
sixty feet long, twelve feet beam, and twenty inches in
depth, quite open, lumbered up with baggage, with a few
muddy boards to sit upon, everything soaked with rain,
and altogether most comfortless. At first there was a
great crowd of passengers and baggage, but these gradually
thinned, till when it became dark and the boatman landed,
there were about eight left, including two women. We
were naturally very angry when we found that the boat
man was gone, but it could not be helped, so three of us
assisted the boy to manage the huge concern. We did it
so well that we got aground three times in a mile, when
fortunately a man came on board who knew something
about the river, otherwise I am quite sure we should
never have reached Oil City last night at all. As it was
it was pretty bad, we had been aground so often, and
bumped against so many rocks that the boat had six inches
of water in it. The boatman left just before we reached
the rapids and the bridges, and the worst parts ofthe
river, so that we had to exert ourselves a good deal to
keep clear of the various obstacles ; and that I am not
laid up to-day with a very bad cold I attribute to the
exercise, and to the warmth of my pea-jacket. I was
certainly tired last night ; four hours' hard work in six
inches of slush and a pelting rain, was calculated to
make me so. However, I am all right to-day, and am very
thankful that I had not to sleep in my wet clothes in some
oil shanty on the bank. As to hotel accommodation here,

132
there is none ; the hotels have grandiloquent names, and
that is all. I have had to sleep three nights in my clothes,
or most of them, in half of a bed, and was very glad to get
that. The food is impregnated with oil, and the water
is so oily that it is undrinkable. I think if I had known
beforehand w'nat a very rough country this is, both in
itself and its inhabitants, I should not have come, but
now I am here I am very glad, for I verily believe that
this is the most extraordinary region on the face of
the earth. On each side of the Oil Creek, on the narrow
strip of ground between the high wooded banks and the
water, Derricks are placed among the trees, (i.e.) those of
the ancient forest which have not been cleared, almost as
close as they can well stand, each with its little shanty and
puffing steam-engine, drilling and pumping, puffing and
panting, all day and all night long. The mode of
proceeding is explained in one of the papers I sent you
with the packet of pamphlets.
Flowing wells are not usual ; we passed a few yester
day on the banks, surrounded by huge oil vats, and with
oil barges lashed to an old stump on the bank. The oil
barges are large flat boats, between sixty and seventy feet
long by fifteen and twenty wide, and thirty to fifty inches
deep ; they are divided into cisterns, into which the oil is
run in bulk, and so floated down the Oil Creek to Oil City,
and thence down the Alleghany to Pittsburg. The produce
ofthe pumping wells is generally sent in similar boats, but
in barrels. The boats which take the barrels down do not
return, but are broken up for fire-wood, and as the
timbers are more or less soaked with oil, fetch a high
price. The number of abandoned wells that one sees
is very great. Only one derrick out of six seems to be
working, and only about one well in a dozen produces
anything very great.
I should say that oil seeking is about the worst business

133
here ; inn-keepers, publicans, grocers, carpenters, and all
other traders who have anything to do with supplying the
region, get rich in three or four years, and often sooner,
but the prizes in oil seeking are few and far between. Oil
seeking, like most things of a similar precarious nature,
is gradually passing into the hands of large companies,
who take extensive tracts of " Oil Territory," and sink
and sink again till they find oil, and are generally success
ful in the end, when carried on in a hond fide manner:
but a great number of the new oil companies are bubble
concerns got up by designing projectors for the sake of
gain, and their much-vaunted " Oi! Territory," often
does not exist at all, except on paper.
Prices here are of course very high ; hotel board is
dearer than in New York, and of the worst description.
Every one comes here with the intention of making a
fortune, and seems to abstain from washing, combing, or
brushing until it is made, when I suppose he buys a new
suit of clothes, and throws the old ones into the Creek.
I had heard of mud previously, and I thought I had
seen some of it, but I was quite mistaken. What London is
in comparison with Montreal, Montreal is in comparison
with the Oil region. The carts sink up to the axles, and
the horses to their bellies in liquid slush ; the stirrups are
constructed like half a boot with a point, as if to make a
way through it, for the feet of people on horseback are
often in it. Long boots, waterproofs, each, all, and
everything covered vrith mud are all one sees. But to
return to the Hotel, or rather the building so miscalled.
It was a very rough and comfortless place, but choked
with people. The only accommodation we four damp
and hungry navigating individuals could find was one
small bed in an upper room, which contained three other
beds, and three straw mattresses in the loft over the
stable (there were twenty-seven mattresses in the loft all

134

in a row). We tossed for the bed upstairs ; but the man
who lost the first toss looked so woebegone, and was so
ill and exhausted, that we decided to let him have it.
The landlord said it was too late to have any supper
prepared, so we had to turn out in a heavy rain to find
some grub ; but fortunately hit upon a sort of place kept
in a cellar by a darkle, where we found some very decent
cold beef, and brown bread and beer, on which we made
a good supper. The place was nice and warm, and two
out of four elected to sleep there on the benches ; the
other two, viz., the poorly one and myself, returned to
the hotel, — he went up stairs, and I prepared to turn in.
The three petroleum lamps in the long dormitory emitted
a strong smell and a weak light, but even by that one
could see that the company present were a rough lot.
I made myself a pillow by wrapping up my pea jacket,
putting my revolver inside ; put my overcoat on the floor,
rather underneath the mattress, and lay down on it, with
the mattress over me ; — this was a precaution against
the expectorating habits of the oil-seeking class round
about. I was soon fast asleep, but was abruptly awoke
by a twenty-eighth individual depositing himself on the
top of my mattress and myself. He was very damp, and
much disappointed to find the bed already occupied ; so
I let him lie beneath the other side of the mattress,
wrapped in the dirty counterpane, which I had left lying
spread over the bed. I slept very well until there was an
alarm of fire, caused by one of the twenty-seven occupants
who came up rather late and full of whisky, upsetting
himself and one of the lamps, with its inflammable but
strong-smelling contents, over an occupied mattress, and
setting fire to it. The occupant was furious at the pros
pect of being burned, and sprang up, and with the
assistance of his two immediate neighbours, lifted up the
offender, pushed him through the door, and let him roll

135
down the ladder by which access was obtained. The
man howled on coming in contact with the wet slush in
the stable yard, and a man with a lamp came out to see
what was the matter. One or two others nea|-ly stamped
out the fire with the mattress, but it burned up again,
and the mattress itself, as a precaution against fire, was
then also thrown out of the door, and fell on the top of the
man with the lamp, who was just at the foot of the ladder
— he and his lamp were both extinguished. The man,
in trying to get rid of the burning mattress, pushed,
and kicked the drunken man, who woke up to find
the burning mattress close to him. Those on the
ladder head called to the man to turn the mattress over
into the mud, which he did, and then pushed the drunken
man into it, so as to squeeze it into the wet mud. The
man apparently found it hot, and began to bawl, but got
no sympathy or help, and was left there till morning :
the mud and his weight extinguished the fire. Of course
we had all jumped' up at the first alarm, and were
picking up our things ready to skedaddle if the fire
extended. The various incidents we saw through a
window which had been pushed open ; it had only a
wooden flap over it, as is usual in stable lofts. We. most
of us went to sleep again until it was light, and then got
up. There were neither washing nor sanitary arrange
ments of any kind in the loft. A man from the house
(the one who had been extinguished) said the lavatory
was in the bar; an unusual arrangement but the custom
there is to wash their insides with whisky while they
wash their faces with water, on rising in the morning.
I waited till most had departed, and then endeavoured to
get a httle of the mud off my Wellingtons by the aid of a
piece of stick. My neighbour who had slept under the
same mattress, suggested that if I went to a puddle and
sluiced them with the water by means of some of the

136

straw which was jutting through holes in the mattress
covers, I should do better. I followed his advice, and
got off a good bit of the mud, and then went into the bar
to the supposed lavatory. There was the landlord, or
boss, vending whisky. I asked for some whisky, but did
not drink it, and then went behind the screen which hid
the supposed lavatory, in which I found two cracked
basins and one piece of soap, but I did not see a towel
till I turned round and found a very dirty article hanging
on the screen. I could not find even a clean corner,
so took it round and suggested to the boss that it
was almost time for a clean one. He received the
suggestion with some surprise, and said, " Wal-1, now,
there's over thirty-two people 'as wiped theirselves with
that 'ere towel this 'ere morning, and you're the fust as
has said anything agin it." This statement, I think,
proved my case. However, I got a clean one, and made
good use of it.
On quitting the lavatory, I enquired of the Landlord
for someone to brush, a little only, of the mud off my
boots and leggings ; he smiled incredulously, and said
that there was a fine upon anyone with polished boots.
At the prfcsent time you would scarcely recognize m.e,
and I am sure you would hardly wish to do so.
I got upset into the bottom of the boat when we ran
into another boat in the dark, which was stuck fast, right
in the middle of the channel, and I am mud almost from
top to toe, in fact nothing but mud up to my knees. I
have only my satchel v/ith me ; my baggage is at Mead
ville, where I hope to find it to-night, and to appear at
church to-morrow in a respectable condition. I took the
precaution of putting on some old clothes, and if they
v^'ere riot spoiled before they are now.
The chief places on the Creek between Shaffer's Farm
and Oil City, are Trunkville, Petroleum Centre, Tar

137
Farm, and Rouseville, where Cherry Run, another small
creek, joins Oil Creek.
The excitement is now greatest on Cherry Run, where
several splendid flowing wells have been struck. The
oil from flowing wells is worth about two dollars less per
barrel than that from the pumping wells, on account of
its lower specific gravity. Oil is now about eighteen
dollars per barrel.
Oil is now found in Western Virginia, and also in
Ohio, and it is the belief of a great many people inte
rested in the subject, that the supply of oil depends upon
the discovery of new districts, as the present one will be
exhausted in a few years. However, as the bituminous
coal-bed, below which the oil exists, is said to extend
from the last spurs of the Alleghanies, in Virginia, to
Georgian Bay, in Canada West, Sir W. Armstrong will
perhaps be able to estimate how long the supply will last
with continually increasing consumption.
I am now going out to see if I can obtain a view of a
Refinery. In the afternoon a Pond Freshet is expected to
come down the river. I have obtained a few views
. of places in this region : as photographs they are poor
and dear, but as views they will be very interesting in
England. I succeeded in obtaining a short view of a Refinery.
The oil is distilled in large vats, then treated with sul
phuric acid, and afterwards with alkali, and to counteract
the acid it is afterwards washed and run into barrels
painted either blue all over or at both ends ; the former is
No. I oil, and the latter No. 2. The consumption in
the oil region itself for light must be very considerable;
gas is manufactured from it at Meadville, and other places
not too distant from the source of supply. Some wells
have been sunk at the town of Erie, and in the lake of
the same name, and yield lubricating oil worth a dollar per

138

gallon ; one yields three barrels per day, giving a revenue
of 120 dollars the barrel, containing forty gallons each.
From Oil City I went in a steamer down the Alle
ghany to Franklin, the county town of the neighbour
hood ; rather a nice place if the mud were less abundant.
The railway here runs to Preadville, and will be open as
far as Oil City in the spring, and right through to Titus
ville by the middle of the summer. The distance from
Franklin to Meadville is twenty-eight miles, the same as
that from Corry to Titusville; and from Oil City to
Titusville about twenty miles, making nearly eighty-five
for the whole of the loop line. At both Franklin and
Shaffer's Farm there are piles of steam-engines and
mining gear waiting to be conveyed to various places on
the creeks in order to commence operations.
There are wells on both banks of the Alleghany all
the way down to Franklin, about seven miles. At
Franklin, another creek, about double the size of Oil
Creek, runs into the Alleghany. V/ells sunk on its
banks have been tolerably successful, but Cherry Run
has been the best neighbourhood ; nearly every well has
" struck tie'' to a greater or less extent.
W. T. N.

139
Meadville, Virginia,
Sunday, December t[th, 1864.

I reached here yesterday evening about 7.30 p.m., and
although very hungry, went to my room and spent
nearly an hour in cleaning myself and changing my
clothes. Meadville is on the main line of the Atlantic
and Great Western Railway, and is the "Swindon" of
America. The company have built a fine hotel, forming
part of a fine station. Fine stations are very rare in
America : I don't think there are more than half-a-dozen
in the whole of the States. The dining-hall adjoining
the platform is divided in two, one-third for the hotel, and
two-thirds for the train-dining. All the trains are timed
so as to have either dinner or supper here ; and although
the establishment has only been open about three months,
it has already acquired a great name, and must be very
profitable to the Atlantic and Great Western Railway, to
which it belongs. If I had not taken the precaution of
telegraphing early in the day I should not have obtained
a room; they were so full that they had to put up beds in
the parlours. The dining-hall is in the Gothic style, and
when fully completed will be very fine. The fare is good,
and the price moderate. It would be a very good thing
if some of the other companies would set up like estab
lishments. One is generally charged seventy-five cents
for the commonest and worst of fare, and there is no
help for it, for when one travels thirty-six hours or so
at a stretch, three or four meals must be had. On the
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne, and Chicago line, they run a saloon
car on "through" trains, in which eatables and drinkables
are served. But this course is open to objection, for the
common class of men, who travel in America in great

140

numbers, get intoxicated, and not only endanger their
own lives in getting from car to car, but also those of their
fellow-passengers ; for when a disturbance arises, each
draws his revolver and fires free, without much regard as
to whom he 'nits. The universal carrying of arms v/hich
prevails here is proof of a decided lapse tov/ards barbarism.
In the Oil region it is very bad indeed ; five people have
been murdered this week on the Creek. Owners of
wells and others have to carry money in order to pay the
men employed upon them, but the gradual establish
ment of banks will somewhat ameliorate affairs in this
respect. Meadville is a nice, quiet little town, but is likely to
increase very rapidly ; indeed, it is already doing so.
It is the turning-point ofthe traffic towards the Oil region,
which draws its supplies of provisions from here and
Franklin. Meadville, and Corry, the junction of the
Atlantic and Great Western, Philadelphia, Erie, and Oil
Creek Railways, have a promising future to look forward
to. Corry is as yet only a little village, so that Meadville
has the advantage in the commencement.
I intend leaving to-morrow morning at 11 a.m., for
Pittsburg, arriving there about 7.30 p.m. I don't know
whether I shall go on the same evening to Harrisburg,
but I think not, because the railway between Pittsburg
and Harrisburg crosses the Alleghany Mountains, and I
wish to see them by daylight. This railway is considered
one of the greatest works ever executed, equalling
the passage over the Western Ghauts in India. The
Philadelphia and Erie Railway, along which I came from
Harrisburg to Corry, goes along the banks ofthe Susque
hanna, the largest river on the east side of the Alleghanies;
The river has two branches where it is crossed near Har
risburg, and the bridges are each more than a mile long.
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. I should

141

like to be there for a few hours. The Susquehanna is
crossed near its debouchure into Delaware Bay, by the
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore line, at present
on a huge steamer with no less than five lines of
rails on it, and which takes over the whole train at once ;
but they are now constructing a stupendous bridge, second
only to the one at Montreal.
When I went with Mr. Homans to the Palisades, some
mountains about fifteen miles above New York, on the
west bank of the Hudson, we made a very interesting ex
periment as to the velocity of sound. The Hudson River
Railway runs on the other side of the river, there about a
mile and a q-aarter wide, and crosses the mouth of the
Harleom River on a wooden viaduct with stone abut
ments. We observed closely when the train entered upon
the wooden portion of the viaduct, and then counted the
number of seconds until the change of sound took place,
and found it to be about six seconds, giving a velocity of
about 1200 feet per second. The Hudson River Railway
follows so closely the course of the river, that the track is
often flooded, and is very liable to be washed away. It
often has water on both sides, and is of a decidedly
amphibious character, and is so dangerous that a man
is stationed every quarter of a mile to give notice of
danger, so that although they run faster than any other
line in the country, they very seldom have an accident.
The day I came along an unusually high tide and strong
south-west wind undermined a portion ofthe road, nearly
opposite to West Point, the Military Academy, and we
were delayed an hour or more till it was propped up. A
similar occurrence took place going into Cincinnati on
the Xomia River, where the bridge was nearly carried
away, and a long string of cars had to be pushed over
empty, backwards, after the passengers had crossed on
foot ; it was not considered safe to take an engine over.

142
Indeed, the rivers in this country are the chief causes of
trouble and cost to railways ; they are generally so large,
and although the volume of water may not be great nine
months in the year, yet they are subject to sudden risings
called " freshets," which cause a great deal of destruction
on the banks, carrying trees and all sorts of things along
with them, and when these become lodged against the
piers of a bridge, the extra pressure of the water against
the accumulated mass is often sufficient to so injure the
pier as to render the bridge unsafe, so that the piers have
to be built much stronger than is usually necessary, and
this even with regard to quite small streams.
W. T. N.

143
Meadville, Virginia,
^th December, 1864.
My dear Mother,
I have arrived here safely after
my trip through the Oil regions, of which I have given
a long description in my letter to my father. I am
resting myself over Sunday at a nice hotel, after my
somewhat arduous journey. I propose leaving to-morrow
and expect to be in Washington some time on Wednesday.
How long I shall stay there depends very much upon
circumstances, but I rather wish to get back to Montreal.
I do not think you would have known me as I appeared
in Oil City, in my pea-jacket and leggings, covered all
over with mud, and here and there oil ; but this morning
I was at church in my usual costume, cleaned, brushed,
and respectable. .One of the black waiters here seems to
have taken quite a fancy to me, I suppose because I went
to supper last evening clean, and most of the others went
in the condition in which they arrived. He seemed quite
disappointed to-day when I could not eat any more dinner ;
he fed me so well at breakfast that I had not very much
appetite; he had prepared a supply of everything in the
dinner-lift beforehand, and kept coming with relays of
things till a good-sized table was so crowded with dishes,
that he could not get any more on, even with the exercise
of considerable ingenuity, I always get on very well
with the " darkies," I suppose it is by speaking civilly and
kindly to them — a thing which the Yankees do not
generally practise. The last morning I was in Phila
delphia, I went to a Quakers' Meeting, sat for an hour on
a brown cushion, till an old man got up 'and said a few
words, and then another old man who sat first on the
Elders' bench, prayed for about fifteen minutes, after
which everyone dispersed. There were very few shovel

144
bonnets and broad-brimmed hats, a good many reduced
plain brown bonnets, but a still larger number of those
of the ordinary shape ; indeed, the old generation of
Quakers seems to be almost extinct, even in the Quaker
City. Philadelphia is a nice quiet place but I do not
like it quite so well as Boston, it is too rectangular; but
for a large town, a greater number of the streets are of a
more uniform character and respectability than in any
other town I have seen, either here or in Europe. The
characteristic house of Philadelphia is a "three storey
brick," and the spinsters are educated to aim at a husband
and such a future dwelling.
The Continental Hotel at Philadelphia is the largest,
and I think generally the handsomest and best arranged
I have seen here, not excepting several at New York,
Chicago, and St. Louis. It has a lift, to take passengers
up and down stairs, which is rather peculiar. The
platform room, or rather cage, has a round cyhnder in
its middle from floor to roof, on which there is a con
tinuous seat like that round a tree in Hyde Park ; inside
this cylinder, which is provided with a receiving or female
screw-worm, there revolves the stem of a gigantic pine
tree, levelled quite straight and parallel : this stem is
fitted with a brass projecting or male screw-worm, which
works in the other worm. The cage is lifted, — I should
say operated, — by the pine tree or centre male worm
being turned by a small steam engine, — the power
required is not great. The advantage claimed is, that the
cage cannot run away and fall down, as do some of the
ordinary cages, suspended by chains or ropes, because
the two worms work into each other, and the cage cannot
slip down. There is, however, a disadvantage : if the
engine breaks down while the cage is on its road between
two stories, the cage must remain there until a jury rig
is fixed to revolve the pine stem again. This has
occurred, and the occupants had one hour's confinement.

'45

The streets in the largest town of the Keystone State,
which is the title bestowed on Pennsylvania, are called
after fruits, such as Pine Street, Chesnut Street, Vine
Street, &c.
The streets are very ingeniously distanced, loo houses
being allowed along the main street between each side
street, so that if you are opposite No. 638, you must just
have passed 6th Street, The streets are very regularly
laid out, the north and south streets being numbered
regularly, from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, — Maiket
Street being the central avenue. The numbered streets
are also allowed 100 houses for each block they are
distant from Market Street, so that 614 North 6th Street
is 12 14 houses from the top end of Market Street; and if
you know how long it takes to walk past 100 houses, you
can calculate within a minute or so how long it will take.
One of the inhabitants with whom I was conversing
about the system called it the " quadratical system." I
suggested "rectangular" instead, but he did not agree.
It does not at all follow that the largest town is the
State capital. For instance, the capital of New York,
the " Empire State," is not New York, but Albany, a
small town 150 miles north of New York, up the Hudson
River. Of Pennsylvania the state capital is Harrisburg,
a town about 160 miles inland from Philadelphia, a quiet,
slow place for America.
Philadelphia rivals Boston in its ancient edifices and
monuments. The Treaty Monument marks the site of
the old elm tree blown down about 60 years ago, under
which John Penn made his treaty with the Red Indians.
Query ? — how many miles West must one now go before
meeting a Red Indian ? The Mississipi is about 750
miles ; perhaps another 250 miles on to that would do it.
In Chesnut Street is Carpenters' Hall, where assembled
the first Congress of the United Colonies, not States, r.s

146

afterwards named. In this street is also the Independence
Hall. In the East Room the Continental Congress met
on 4th July, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence
was adopted and publicly proclaimed from the steps in
front of the Hall. The East Room presents still the
same appearance as on that memorable occasion. The
furniture is that used by the Congress ; there is a statue
of Washington, numerous portraits and pictures, and
many curious relics of the Revolutionary War. Here
also is preserved the " Liberty Bell," the first bell rung
after the proclamation ofthe Declaration.
In a room called " Congress Hall," on the second
story, President Washington made his last farewell
speech. Franklin's grave is at the S.E. corner of Market Street
and 7th Street.
Philadelphia also boasts the only really correct Corin
thian building I have seen, or about which I can hear of
in America at present. I refer to "Girard College," an
Institution founded for the " gratuitous support and
instruction of destitute orphans." The building stands
at the top of a rising ground, almosta hill, and a fine
view is obtained from the roof, which is reached through
a trap door. I was invited, when visiting the Institution,
to go up and see the view, as the Prince of Wales had
also done so when here ; I went up. Near the top
the guide made way, and I went first ; and as my head
appeared through the trap, off Went my hat ; there was a
great laugh on the part of those just below, who it seems
had played me a trick of getting me to go first, expect
ing my hat to go. However, it did not travel far, and
was picked out of the gutter. The Prince of Wales' blew
right away ; but this it seems was a tall hat (what they
call here a stove-pipe), and mine was only a deer-stalker.
It seems that at the elevation occupied by the Institution

H7

and its grounds (about 50 acres), a strong wind usually
blows. Philadelphia is very pleasantly situated between -the
Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, and is stated to be very
healthy. It has a splendid Park of nearly 3,000 acres,
which extends along both banks of the Schuylkill River
for some miles. The only other park I know of with a
river through it is the Prater at Vienna, but this is much
finer and not so flat. On the summit of Fairmount Hill
there are four large reservoirs for the waterworks, cover
ing about six or seven acres, and stated to contain nearly
thirty million gallons. A dam 1600 feet long is placed
across the Schuylkill, and water wheels worked by the
water raise the water to the topmost reservoir. The
whole concern ought to be shipped to London by the
first steamer big enough to contain it, and, then London
would have good water quite cheap. I don't see why the
Thames co-jld not do its own pumping the same way at
Teddington, near which my rowing trips have taught me
there is a lot of vacant land which would give space for
the reservoirs.
Please give my kindest regards to all my friends. I
will endeavour to send each a Christmas letter, but you
do not know how difficult it is to write long letters when
one is travelling about here ; one's luggage is locked, and
not at hand, there is no table in the room, the gas gives
very little light, and in the public room the people seem
to be injured if you do not wish them to read what you
are writing; one is tired and dusty, and sleepy and feverish
with travelling for hours in hot, close cars, with abomin
able pipe-stoves, dirty and unaccommodating people, the
men spitting, the women walking to and fro, up and down
the cars every five minutes to get some water, the babies
crying and screaming, the little boys rummaging about
and seizing hold of every thing that takes their fancy.

148

The American children are the worst behaved I ever saw,
and their parents are not much better ; the little boys are
the greatest nuisance, they make remarks upon everybody
and everything, handle things, and are admired by their
parents for their " inquiring minds !" Indeed, after they
are sixteen or seventeen they, and especially the girls, rule
everything ; the young ladies in New York invite whom
they like, particularly young men, without the remotest
reference to their elders, say what they like, do what they
Hke, spend what they like, and in fact, rule the roast
altogether. But enough of American Society. I suppose
you will be making preparations for Christmas by the
time you receive this letter. Christmas is observed in
Canada, but not in the States ;'New Year and Thanks
giving days (24th Nov.) are the great feasts. The fami
lies unite on the latter day in the manner usual in Eng
land at Christmas.
W. T. N.

149

Washington,
, Sth December, 1864.
My dear Mother,
I put this slip into the letter to
you to say that my last packet missed the Cunard steamer,
because I could not obtain any stamps of a higher deno
mination than three cents, and I should have had to cover
the letter completely with them.
I left Meadville on Monday morning and went to Pitts
burg, and then came across the Alleghany mountains to
Harrisburg. The railway is a great engineering feat,
It twists and bends round the edge of precipices, goes
through hills and over torrents in the most daring manner.
The scenery is grand in the extreme.
I stayed two or three hours at Harrisburg, the capital
ofthe " Keystone State." It is rather a miserable place.
I then continued my journey to- Baltimore, where I slept,
and started early next morning for Washington.
I was so fortunate as to obtain a room at Willard's
Hotel, the chief hotel in the city, and the greatest Babel
I ever saw. It is worse than the St. Nicolas at New
York, for there are as many people .and no adequate space
to accommodate them. The dining-room is so long, that
if you have your dinner at one end, by the time you have
walked to the door at the other end it is digested, and you
are ready for your tea, which you find going on there.
The Capitol is certainly magnificent on the outside, and
some portions of the interior are fine, but the frescoes,
with the exception of about four, are beneath criticism.
The Senate House has some good parts, but is not the
least impressive, and the House of Assembly is sdll less
so. The respect of the visitor is not increased by what

I50

appears to be the favourite posture of many of the mem
bers. They throw themselves back on their chairs,
balance the chair on the two hind legs, put their feet on
the desk in front of them and so present the soles of their
boots instead of their faces to the speaker.
The seats are arranged in a semi-circle, every two
members having a desk and arm chairs. The extent of
accommodation provided for the public is very large.
The public may also be taken by members into the body
of the House — a most inconvenient arrangement. To
the gallery no tickets are required, and it is consequently
half filled with nasty dirty idlers, soldiers, and all sorts of
common people, who seem to go for the sake of a seat
and to pass away the time. Altogether, the absence of
order and dignity in the regulations of the Chambers of
Legislature detracts very much from the impressiveness
of the proceedings. I am, Yours, &c.
W. T, N.

151

Willett's Hotel, Washington,
District of Columbia,
gth December, 1864.
My dear Father,
I put a few words into my last letter to
my mother, about Washington, and will now continue.
The Americans are considered an ingenious people,
but in the case of Washington they have " licked creation,"
and have built a city, or rather odd pieces of a grand
plan, which makes it most difficult to find one's way ;
many of the streets are not carried out according to
the plan, consequently instead of leading into the next
street they terminate in a quagmire of their own.
The avenues are so broad (160 feet) that it is quite a
journey from one side to the other, and as the streets are
not paved, this journey is by no means agreeable, for the
soil of Virginia seems to be such a peculiar compound,
half clay, half loam, that it is perfectly appropriate for
forming a very tenacious mud, which remains liquid a
long time and continually deepens. The avenues are
named after the various States ofthe Union, Pennsylvania
Avenue running from the Capitol to the White House, a
distance of more than one mile.
The streets, which cross the avenues at right angles,
are numbered. The city was planned and laid out by
Washington some years before the seat of government
was removed thither from Philadelphia, which took place
in 1800. The Capitol, the chief building, is no doubt
the most complete building of its kind in the World ;
it presents a very imposing appearance, and its main
front is very handsome, but the Dome is too stilted, it
has a double tambour as if the designer had done it in

152

order to beat Sir Christopher Wren's St, Paul's, but
he has overdone it ; the interior is also generally
satisfactory; the Senate House is a fine chamber, semi
circular in shape, with the President's chair in the centre
of the diameter. The galleries for the public are very spa
cious, capable, I believe, of accommodating 1,203 persons,
but they are too spacious ; I think they detract from the
appearance of the room, and the general effect is by no
means striking. The House of Assembly is very similar
to the Senate House, and the same remarks apply to it
more forcibly ; the members sit in pairs at desks, the
only effect of which is, that the members conduct their
correspondence during the sittings of the House. The
Rotunda under the dome is the most successful part of
the interior ; it has eight large frescoes on the walls, some
of them of rather' questionable merit. The height from
the floor to the base of the lantern is 200 feet ; the dome
is rather higher in proportion to its diameter than is usual,
and is scarcely so graceful in form as might be. The
Library is a fine room, well adapted to its purpose ; some
of the corridors are also very chaste and elegant, but the
frescoes are generally failures. The fittings of the Houses
arc by no means imposing ; the members chat with
outsiders upon the floor of the House, and conduct
themselves in other unimposing ways. The same may
be said of the Courts of Law ; the absence of robes,
and also of respect for the Judges is very observable.
The White House, the official residence ofthe President,
is a tolerably comfortable abode ; a certain number of the
rooms are left open, and in these a dirty-booted, tobacco-
chewing public has altogether spoiled everything on the
ground, and two or three feet above it. The East room,
in which entertainments are given, is tawdry, and at
present shabby-genteel, but I suppose new furniture will
not be put in till the Inauguration. The War and Navy

153
departments are located in buildings to which the Admir
alty and War Office in London are gems. The Treasury
is a large, handsome building, in what they call the Cor
inthian style, but which could be better named United
States New Greco-Roman, The State Department is
better than the Army and Navy, but not much. The
Internal Department, Census, Patent Office, and a few
other bureaus, are all located in a very large and grand
building called the Patent Office, situated about three-
quarters of a mile from both the Residence and the
Capitol. The third floor is devoted to a Museum, where
models of all the machines for which patents have ever
been granted in the United States are classified and depo
sited. The interior of this building is superior, but the
exterior is inferior to Somerset House. The General
Post Office is opposite the Patent Office, and is a smaller
edifice in the same style.
The next most important building in Washington is
that of the Smithsonian Institution , it is a large red-brick
edifice in the Romanesque, consisting of a museum,
picture gallery, two lecture theatres, apparatus room,
library, rooms for experiments, chemical laboratory, and
Mr. Henry's residence. They have a fair collection of
various things, a very good scientific library, &c. It was
founded by a bequest made by one of the Smithsons of
the same family as are now Dukes of Northumberland,
who had come over here and made a large fortune. The
terms of the bequest were " to increase and diffuse
" knowledge among men,"
Dr. Henry, the secretary, is a most cultivated and able
man. He has organised the Institution on a universal
basis ; it is partly a museum and partly devoted to
scientific training, and although several Members of
Congress and people of note, argued that as the money
was bequeathed to the United States it was intended for

154

the United States alone. Dr. Henry overcame the op
position, and adhered strictly to the founder's intentions,
as expressed in the bequest.
Dr. Henry kindly took me all over. We talked about
various physical sciences and the various professors at
King's College, most of whom he knew by name, and
corresponded with and greatly admired Professor Ramsay,
the Royal Society gold medallist, under whom I had
studied Experimental Physics. Dr. Henry did not admire
the English appellation. He considered that " Illustrated
Physical Science,'' would be much better. I quite concur
in his views, as the title ofthe class was often a joke at
King's, and the students in it were asked by the outsiders,
" what sort of physics they took and how they agreed
with them ? "
Good houses in Washington, except just in the neigh
bourhood of the Residence, are few and far between, the
intervals are filled up by miserable buildings of brick, or
sometimes by shanties, the distances are very great, and
the grand idea that by putting the Residence a mile-and-a
half from the Capitol the interval would be filled by
magnificent mansions, is a complete failure, for the
Residence is placed in the lowest and most unhealthy
place for miles round, and as the houses have congre
gated round it, the mortality is rather higher than in some
other cities. Very few of the Members bring their wives
and families to Washington, consequently society is
composed entirely of the Heads of Government Depart
ments, who have perhaps more " go " in them than any
other bureau-cracy, but would still be improved by the
admixture of some outsiders. The want of a mixed
middle class is nowhere more felt than in the Capital ;
at present the Government Fmployes, from the Secretary
of State downwards, are bitterly complaining that their
salaries have not advanced with the price of commodities,

»55
and what with that and the increased and burdening tax
ation, they are really in a very pitiable condition. The
extravagance in dress so prevalent in New York is totally
absent in Washington. Everything, from streets to
bonnet-ribbons, seems to be spun out to its greate.«t
length. The only things to be seen in abundanceTnC
soldiers ; the streets are filled with mounted soldiers and
officers instead of carriages, and with army waggons
instead of omnibuses ; on the pavements wounded men
take the place of ladies, of children and dogs ; no fine
shops are to be seen in the whole city. Quartermasters'
depots seems to have been substituted for linendrapers,
and commissary stores for grocers ; the vacant spaces are
filled with huts and shanties for army purposes ; altogether
the place is like a great camp, with a few large stone
buildings let fall into its midst by accident. Of all the
capitals on the face of the earth, I really believe that
Washington is the least attractive. Mr. Kennedy, the
Census Superintendent, took me to visit various officials,
friends of his, of whom I will first say something about
the President. Mr. Kennedy exhibited to the President
a manuscript map of two or three of the States of the
Union ; which States I don't know, but I fancy they
are Southern and not Northern States. On this map
there seems to be set out the situation, population, and
productions of each tov^^nship ; but as the map has been
probably put together at the Census Department by
special order, I have not seen it. After the President
and Mr, Kennedy had had a good look into the plan, we
took our leave, — the President desiring Mr. Kennedy to
shew the plan to Mr. Stanton without delay. His personal
appearance is well known, and is aptly described by one
of his countrymen, who said of Abraham Lincoln that
" he was a man, a mile and a half high, with a number 6
'' hat, and number 14 boots." Nevertheless he is an agree-

156

able person, chatty and joking ; he let off three witticisms
while I was there which cannot well be transferred to
paper. I think if his mind were not so buoyant he must
have sunk before now, beneath his load of care and
responsibility. After calHngon Mr. Wells, the Secretary ofthe Navy,
who is a very quiet, affable old gentleman, and is said to
possess competent knowledge of maritime matters, we
went to see the Secretary for War, Mr. Stanton, who,
after the President, is the leading mind in the government.
Mr. Stanton is a middle-aged man of moderate height,
who wears a beard, his manner is rather abrupt, but
decided, his eyes bright and piercing, and the shape of
his head gives one the impression of exceptional capacity
and vigour.
We had to wait for a time, during which Mr. Kennedy
introduced me to Col. Hardy, Inspector General of the
United States Army, and Mr. Stanton's right-hand man.
Col. Hardy and Mr. Kennedy are well acquainted (the
latter has two sons now serving in the armj',] and Mr. K.
during the conversation enunciated the, to me, quite new
idea that Col. Hardy should give me a pass to the Army of
the Potomac, and that I should go down with the head
quarters of the 6th corps who were about to embark at
Washington, to join General Grant's Arm.y of the Potomac
at City Point on James River, and occupy lines on the
left of the army besieging Richmond. I did not hesitate
to join in the project, but Col. Hardy objected that as I
was not a professional soldier, it would be irregular.
At this point Stanton's door opened, and we walked in;
Mr. Kennedy introduced me to the Secretary of War,
who made various sharply uttered enquiries as to my age,
— what part of England I was born in, — how and where
educated ; and on my informing him at King's College,
London, he replied that he thought all the Colleges were

'57
at Oxford and Cambridge. I explained that there were
Universities at Durham, London, and Dublin, and also
several in Scotland, at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen,
St. Andrews, &c.
Mr. Kennedy then suggested the Pass, whereat Stanton
said nothing ; so Kennedy produced the plan, and they
retired to a corner window some way off (as the room
was large), and Stanton cross examined the plan and
its author in the same quick and curt way that he had
questioned me. When he had finished, he turned round
and said, "Well, youngster, and why should you wish to
visit the Army of the Potomac." I replied, that I had
travelled about Europe, and had seen the various trained
armies of France, Belgium, Prussia, and Austria, and
should like to see the American National Army, which
had all been raised within the three or four years since
the beginning of the War of Secession,
Mr. Stanton said no more, but told me in a quiet, curt
voice, that he thought he would " chalk my back," gave
me a severe squeeze of the hand, and reverted to the
map again.
I stood some way off, and mused as to what process
was to be applied to my back, until the map being done
with, and Mr. Kennedy's hand severely squeezed, I made
a very ceremonious bow, and we left the room. Mr.
Kennedy then said to Col. Hardy, whose post was in the
next room, "Ah, you see Mr. Stanton has given my young
friend a pass." It immediately struck me that "chalking
my back" meant giving the pass, so I rushed back at the
door, which was just closing on some others who had
gone into the Secretary's room, squeezed in, and said
with excitement, " I have to thank your Excellency for
your kind consideration in granting me a pass. I did not
quite understand the expression used by your Excellency,"
Stanton replied, jokingly addressing all present, " Told

158
" youngster I'd chalk his back, — didn't understand me."
I was again making a most polite bow before retiring to
the door, when my departure was hastened by — " That'll
" do, youngster ; be off, and good luck to you." The pass
was duly written and signed, and we returned towards
the Census Office, where Mr. Kennedy and I parted, as
we were to meet again at his house, at his family dinner,
later on to-day, and concert the remaining details as to
my passage with General Wright and his staff of the
6th corps,
Mr. Kennedy tells me that the pass will do everything,
and that it, together with the letter of Mr. Strong, the
Chairman of the Sanitary Commission, will find me all
I want. This was good news, as I began to reflect that some
considerable expenses might accrue from the expedition,
and I thought of writing to the agent in New York, who
had my money, and ask him to send me some; however,
I did not quite know where to have it addressed, so I put
off writing.
I am to see some of the other officials on my return to
Washington. I am, yours, &c.
W. T. N.

159

On Board Sanitary Commission Barge,
City Point, Virginia.
izth December, 1864.

Havingfinished my description ofthe capital ofthe United
States in my last letter, I will go on with that of the
camp of the Army of the Potomac. Col. Hardy handed
me my pass, and I left Washington on board a steamer,
which conveyed General Wright, the Commander of the
6th corps, and his staff, from Washington to City Point.
I had an introduction to the General, and also to his
chief of artillery. Col. Tomkins, both from Mr. Kennedy,
to whom they were very well known ; the latter especi
ally was a very intimate friend. We left the wharf about
4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon (loth inst.), and proceeded
down the Potomac, which is a fine large river. The
distance from Washington to the mouth is about 100
miles ; from the mouth to Fortress Monroe 80 miles along
Chesapeake Bay ; and from there to City Point 100 miles,
making altogether 280.
The " Keyport," was a pretty good steamer, but it had a
large cargo, consisting of the General, twelve staff officers,
about forty orderhes and servants, sixty horses, and some
baggage. There were no sleeping berths, so the officers
had their bedding spread on the cabin floor. The weather
was very cold, the food poor, the cabin floor hard, and
the United States blankets rather thin. An officer's
bedding consists of a waterproof covering to lay on the
ground, and a number of blankets, var3ring from four to
six. The General and the Colonel each lent me a pair
of blankets, but even with those, my own great coat, and
an immense cavalry overcoat, it was very difficult to

i6d

keep warm. We lay in two rows on the cabin floor,
with our feet towards the stove. Among the staff officers,
were Captain McClellan (a brother of the General's),
Captain Lerrar, a young man who had travelled in Europe,
and Major Whittier, the chief aide-de-camp, a young
West Point officer — these were by far the best of the lot ;
some of the others were very uncultivated and rough.
On Saturday night or rather one o'clock on Sunday
morning, there was a great hu'labaloo among the horses
which were standing close together under a covered deck.
One of Captain Lerrar's had kicked through the partition
and jumped down into the engine-room ; however, as
there were no means of getting him out he was well
supplied with water and had to stay there and bear the
heat. Sunday was a very long day ; I spent it chiefly in read
ing, except during the evening, when I had a long con
versation with Dr. Holman, the Medical Director of the
Corps, a tolerably agreeable, but somewhat narrow-minded
Bostonian ; he was rather astonished at my knowledge
of wounds, obtained in the summer in the hospitals in
Montreal, in connexion with the emigrant affair.
We reached City Point late at night, and anchored in
the middle ofthe stream, where in the morning we were
hard and fast aground, and did not get off till twelve
o'clock. I immediately went to the Provost Marshal and
had my pass properly registered, and then went to have a
look round City Point,
City Point is at the confluence of the James and Appo-
tomax rivers, about loo miles from the mouth of the
former, and 30 below Richmond. The James is a very
large river, but somewhat shallow ; slightly picturesque,
but not very much so. Previous to the war. City Point was
only a small place, but now it is the grand depot and base
of the Army of the Potomac, and the Army of the James

i6i

Rivers. It has a railway sixteen miles long going to the
front, and numerous lines of steamers to Washington,
Baltimore, Philadelphia, &c. ; and innumerable small
steam vessels to local militarypoints. General Grant has
his head-quarters here, which, together with the Quarter
master-General, Commissary General, Provost Marshal,
Medical Inspector, &c., &c., &c., constitute a very large
establishment. Some very fine long wharves have been
built, with the rails laid down to the water's edge, ware
houses (of wood) constructed, and everything finished
with the exception of the roads.
Mr. Strong, the Treasurer of the Sanitary Commission
in New York, gave me an introduction to their agent
here, who has kindly provided me with quarters. His
office and store for the distribution of comforts and
necessaries to the troops are on two barges, moored to
the wharf, on board of one of which I am now. The
accommodations are of course rough and ready, but better
than could have been expected. Trains loaded with
forage, food and stores, are continually going to the front
on the left.
I must conclude in haste, with best love all round as
usual, as a man says my horse is waiting.
W. T. N.

1 62

On Board Sanitary Commission Barge,
City Point,
i6th December, 1864.

I have returned from an expedition to the front, and
must now describe briefly the position of the army ofthe
Potomac. The Left, under the command of General Meade,
extends from the Appotomax south-westward round
Petersburg, as far as the Weldon Railroad, and a litde
beyond. The Right, or the army of the James, extends
from Point of Rocks on the Appotomax, to Dutch Gap
and Fort Harrison on the James, and then bends round
to join the line of the James again, somewhat above City
Point. The Southerners command the James from Fort
Harrison to Richmond, and also partially at Dutch Gap.
On Monday afternoon I went up the James about
twenty miles, to a place called Deep Bottom, where the
Sanitary Commission have a station ; slept there in a tent
occupied by the engineer officers in charge of the canal
work. The question was argued as to whether this
particular tent was within the shell range. The majority
considered that it was. The shells burst regularly every
8 to 10 minutes, about 200 yards off, and exploded ; but
the noise they made was nothing to the screeching and
shrieking of some 120 mules belonging to the Army
Service Department, which had a waggon station near
by. The engineer officer thought that the shells thrown
by the Southerners from Fort Howlett towards the
Dutch Gap canal, were by no means a nuisance but

1 63

rather useful, because, as he alleged, they kept the darkies
who were employed in the night digging, from going to
sleep. The next morning I rode out first to the lines of the
iSth Corps, near Jones' Landing, and then to the famed
Dutch Gap. It is a narrow peninsula, through which a
canal is being cut, to enable the gunboats to go further
up towards Richmond. The James winds very much,
and here goes seven miles round a peninsula only 350
yards across. [Vide Map.)

I. Fort Howlett,
lA, Southern Battery.
2, Fort Brady, Federal,
3. Fort Harrison, Federal.
4. Southern Earthworks.
5. Ravine with Casemates.
The canal is completed about three quarters across the
neck of the peninsula, filled with water, and the re-

164

maining quarter is mined, and nearly ready to blow
up. The river, between the two ends of the canal,
is full of obstructions, placed there by the Federals to
prevent the Southern gunboats coming down from Rich
mond in the beginning of the war, and now they are
unable to remove these from under the fire of the guns
of Fort Howlett. They have since taken Forts Brady
and Harrison, and the command of the river above
the canal.
Forts Howlett and Harrison are situated on lofty pro
montories, and are both very strong. Fort Howlett con
tinually sends shells to annoy the men working in the
canal ; earthworks have been constructed above the canal
to keep them out as much as possible, but they come
far beyond the works.
The men who are posted in the neighbourhood have
constructed curious casemates in a ravine marked 5 on
my sketch. They are very similar to cases, with the
entrance blocked up as much as possible. The whole
lines occupied by the troops, both on the right and left,
towards Richmond, are covered by a breastwork five feet
high, with redoubts at the salient angles where the ground
is favourable. The breastwork is made of earth and felled trees, thus—

In front ofthe parapet, towards the enemy, there is dug
a V shaped dftch, which supplies about one-haffofthe
earth required for the parapet, and on the further side of
this ditch the tops of trees with the branches cut sharp

i65
are massed together with the twigs towards the enemy,
so as to form an abattis which shall impede an attacking
column and keep them under the full fire ofthe defenders
at close range. The step is left behind the breastwork,
to be mounted in order to fire ; when standing in the
ditch the head is completely protected. As. the whole
country for miles was covered with small timber, these
works are very easy of construction ; but the timber is fast
disappearing, and when this winter is over there will not
be much left. The corps guarding the works near Dutch
Gap, and indeed all round the right, are blacks, except
the artillery. They make almost smarter soldiers than
the whites, and with good officers form very good troops,
although of course they partake much more of the nature
of machines.
The following day I rode round the lines nearly as far
as Fort Harrison, and then returned to Deep Bottom, and
after another night spent under canvas, in the proximity
of the bass diaphason of the shells and the shrill falsetto
of the mules, I started back here, and arrived this
morning. On my way back I stopped at a Sanitary Commission
Station at the Coloured Hospital, a mile above here.
The Sanitary Commission have a station in the camp of
each corps, and one in that of each corps' hospital,
for the distribution of comforts and necessaries. At
the one I saw there is a small library for the loan of
books to convalescents, a tent with writing apparatus,
where men can write to their friends, a smoking tent, &c.
All this is free to the troops, who, as a general rule,
appreciate it very much. At the stations in the camps
near the front the men come for needles, thread, mittens,
socks, drawers, warm shirts, tobacco, crackers, i.e., a
name for biscuits, and all sorts of things.that the Govern
ment does not supply, but which are still calculated to

i66

alleviate the discomforts of hard field service. At the
Hospital Stations they distribute stimulants, delicacies,
extra food, &c., &c., &c. I think it is a very great and
deserving Institution.
I rode out to-day to Point of Rocks, partly to see
the station there, and partly to see the Poccahontas
oak, which is situated on a high point above the
Appotomax river. It is the tree to which, in the early
days of settlers, John Smith was tied to be burnt, when
his life was saved by Poccahontas, the daughter of an
Indian chief; one of the frescoes in the Rotunda in the
Capitol represents her subsequent baptism. The view
from Point of Rocks is very beautiful, with the river
stretching away up towards Petersburg.
To-morrow morning I purpose starting back to Wash
ington in the mail-boat, which leaves at lo a.m., and
takes about twenty-four hours to reach Washington. I
should have visited my acquaintances of the 6th Corps,
whose lines are on the left, but there is nothing more to
see in one line than in another, and I am likely to be a
little pinched for time so as to get back to Montreal
some days before Christmas.
I think that as both Professor Henry and Mr. Kennedy
know you by reputation, it would be polite in you to
write to them and thank them for their civility to me,
(Professor Henry gave me a letter to General Butler, who
has gone South, so I could not see him.)
In Professor Henry's letter you might say that a
letter to him was more useful than one to the Enghsh
Ambassador. I am certainly much indebted to Dr. Jarvis
for the letters he gave me to Washington. I think you
will receive a pamphlet from Mr. Kennedy, and in
acknowledgement of its receipt, you might mention his
politeness to me.
I don't think I can write any more, as my hand is

i67

awfully tired and numb, partly with holding my reins to
day, and partly with writing.
I had rather a long ride to-day, about ten miles ; it is
not the distance but the state ofthe roads which distresses
man and horse,
W, T. N,

LETTERS

FROM THE

iRON REGION OF STYRIA,

AND FROM

AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY.

1865,

[The writer of these Letters spent three months in
Austria, in the Spring and Summer of 1865, as Private
Secretary to one of the English Members of the Inter
national Anglo - Austrian Commission, appointed to
consider the best means of introducing reforms into
the Austrian Custom Tariff,]

LETTERS, &c.

Vienna, May 20th, 1865.
I left Vienna on Tuesday last, the i6th instant, in
company with Mr. Bell and Mr. Allhusen, on an expedi
tion to visit the Iron and Coal districts of Styria ; as it
was considered desirable that Mr. Bell, an iron master
himself, should become acquainted with the condition of
the chief iron region of Austria, A considerable portion
of the statistics contained in the account of the journey
is derived from the particulars collected by Mr. Bell
during the tour.
We left Vienna by the Express train to Trieste, which
runs three times a week in summer, and twice in winter.
The train left Vienna at 6 45 a.m., and about 9 a.m, we
began to ascend the celebrated Railway Pass of the
Semmering. The scenery, which had been pretty the whole way
from Vienna (about 45 miles), grew finer and grander.
The mountains increased in height, patches of snow were
seen in the clefts, agriculture retired down the valley,
leaving verdant slopes, rugged rocks, and precipitous
declivities only in view.
At Glocknitz, the station at the foot of the Pass, we
had exchanged the ordinary engine for one of great
power and ugliness.
The huge machine now began to pant and puff as it
hauled the train up the incline, not an incline almost
imperceptible to the eye, but one having a rise of i in 40,
or about twice as steep as Ludgate Hill,

172

We wound along one side of a narrow valley, at the
lower end of which the pretty town of Glocknitz is situ
ated. On the opposite side of the valley an inclined
mark could be seen on the face of the mountain This
mark by its regularity, in sometimes displaying a surface
of bared strata, now and then crossing a bridge or a
viaduct, and by occasionally disappearing altogether (in
a tunnel), showed it to be the further course of the
ascending railway. The train ran along the verge of an
abyss continually increasing in depth ; and one could
not help speculating with a shudder on the consequences
if the train should leave the rails.
After some time, we reached the end of the long narrow
valley, and as we crossed to the other side, on a viaduct
of two storeys, we had a most beautiful view down the
whole length of the valley. The glimpse was certainly
one of surpassing beauty.
The fine hills on either side ; the mountains in the
background ; the lower surface of the valley divided into
fields, and cultivated ; each separate enclosure displaying
a different shade of green : the trees of every description
clothed in their new May verdure, its freshness not yet
toned down by the heats of summer, presented altogether
a most lovely spectacle.
• As we ascended, the scenery increased in grandeur,
the mountains rose higher and higher, and we were
surprised that a railway could be constructed in such an
alpine region.
We now begin to pass through numerous tunnels and
along the edge of giddy precipices, the noise made by
the train reverberated among the rocks, and the steam
whistle echoed over and over again. We stopped at a
station where some little children came with jugs of
water — pure mountain spring water — with which to
restore the nerves, and refresh the bodies of the

173
travellers, and all for the moderate charge of one
farthing per glass.
Other children presented bouquets of mountain flowers,
nicely arranged, for sale.
After leaving this station and ascending some distance
further we passed through a tunnel 4,518 feet long, and
arrived at Semmering, the summit of the pass.
Semmering consists of only a few houses besides the
railway station ; it has certainly risen in the world since
thj establishment of the railway, although it was tolera
bly high before. It possesses a small inn, at which the
tourists, who now often come to enjoy the beautiful
scenery of the neighbourhood, can obtain a small amount
of accommodation and something to eat.
After leaving the Semmering, the train began to de
scend an incline almost as steep as the one it had
ascended, but the scenery was not to be compared to
that just described.
We continued our course to Bruck on the Muhr, a
small town 106 miles south of Vienna, where we quitted
the train and proceeded by carriage to Leoben, a town
10 miles distant ; tlje centre of the iron district of Styria.
The road passes through a pretty valley, and follows
the course of the Muhr, which is one of the chief tribu
taries of the Drave, into which river it flows near
Marburg. Bruck is a small old fashioned town with an ancient
castle and town hall, the latter displayed some rather
curious ancient- Gothic architecture. The castle was
formerly of importance as a Styrian stronghold, but is
now only an interesting ruin.
After a pleasant drive of nearly two hours we reached
Leoben, a very ordinary looking place. We put up at an
old inn, where we found tolerably comfortable quarters,
whence I purpose writing to you again before I leave.

174 Vienna, '^une ist, 1865.
I now resume my description of our proceedings after
we reached Leoben.
We went in the afternoon to see the Iron works of Mr.
Meyer, about two miles distant from the town.
Part of the works were old, having been erected in
1846, since which time they have been much added-to
and patched.
The operations were mixed together in a somewhat
confused manner, and the workmen being employed at
several different processes, do not acquire the same
amount of skill usually seen in England.
We were surprised to find a considerable amount of
Staffordshire pig iron laying in the yard ; it seems it is
used in the composition of cast steel, for which Mr,
Meyer is famous. The cost of this iron varies at Leoben
from 126s, to 144s. per ton, the cost in England being
from 50s. to 56s. per ton ; the freight to Trieste cost
from 20S. to 25s. per ton, the duty is 42 kreutzers per
cwt. or i6s. 6d. per ton, and the difference is made up
by the cost of railway from Trieste to Bruck (257 miles)
and of cartage from Bruck to Loeben (10 miles).
These facts afford conclusive proof of the undesir-
ability of maintaining a duty upon foreign pig iron
entering Austria, for extra cost in the raw material
multiplies itself at every process, and reduces the chance
of the finished articles being able to compete with those
of foreign makers.
The fuel used at Leoben is brown coal ' from the coal
field of the neighbourhood (5 miles off) and a small
amount of coke brought from Funfkirchner in Hungary,
166 miles distant.
The quality of the Iron was considered by Mr. Bell, of
Newcastle, to be most excellent, and he thought it a
great pity that such excellent material should be used

175

for such common purposes as making rails, when rails
could be sent from England 25 per cent, under the
Austrian price, Austria possesses at the same time
great advantages for the manufacture of bar iron, in the
low rate of wages, and in the abundance of brown coal
fit for use at the forge, so that an Austrian bar-maker
importing English pig iron and converting it into bars
ought to be able to undersell his English competitor ; it
would, therefore, seem to be very much to the advantage
of Austria to import English pig iron duty free, and at
the same time to send in exchange some of their excellent
Styrian Iron to England to be converted into the higher
qualities of steel.
Iron of superior excellence is in great demand in
England, at present, and the demand seems likely to
increase. In Sheffield, for instance, 5,000 tons of German spugel
iron are used in a year, and the same amount of Swedish
iron, all for the manufacture of the best qualities of steel.
After we had seen the iron works we drove out to the
Coal mines, part of which also belong to Mr. Meyer.
The deposit of brown coal or lignite is of very consider
able extent. It is 8,000 yards long by 3,200 broad, and
in the centre it is 48 feet thick, and at the edges 8 feet,
the average thickness being 24 feet.
It is worked by a gallery from the hill side, in a rather
curious manner ; the vein is so large that it admits of six
drifts, which are worked one after another as follows : —
The Coal is first extracted from
No, I, which is then filled up with
rubbish and No. 2 is worked ; when
the three first drifts are worked out
up to the edge of the seam, they
begin at the bottom of the other side.
This mode of working is very expen-

176
sive on account of the great pressure of the superincum
bent mass of coal, the weight of which is so great that
the battening in the main passages requires partly
renewing every three weeks.
The entrance galleries are very large and lofty, being
quite 7 feet high and 5 feet broad. The drifts are 5 feet
high and 3 feet or 4 feet broad according to the amount
of pressure experienced ; when the pressure is great the
lesser width is adopted.
It is the opinion of many people practically conversant
with the working of coal mines that the cost is very much
increased by the great size of the seam ; but notwith
standing this, the edges of the seam where it is much
thinner have been scarcely worked at all.
The coal costs at the pit 7s. 6d. per ton, and the
carriage by waggon about three miles costs 2s. lod, per
ton, making the cost at the iron-works in Leoben about
I OS, 6d. per ton altogether.
The amount of coal got per day is about 100 tons. It
is believed that the average cost per ton could be materi
ally reduced if i ,000 tons per day were worked instead
of 100.
After viewing the mine very completely and seeing
drawings of the whole field, a mere fraction of which is
as yet touched, we returned to Leoben, and passed the
night at an old-fashioned inn, with an exceedingly civil
landlord. We left the next morning at 6 a.m. for Forderberg, 12
miles off, in two carriages, one not being considered
enough, as we proposed going rather a long way, and the
road was hilly.
We had a pleasant drive through a valley of great beauty,
the scenery of which increased in grandeur as we ap
proached a range of mountains called the Forderberger
Ridge, the most remarkable of which was the Ore

177
Mountain, a stupendous mountain composed almost ex-
clusively of ironstone. The valley became at la'st very
narrow and at the point where it ended and the defile
between the opposite mountains began, is situated the
village of Forderberg, possessing, as we had been
told, 14 Blast Furnaces, for the smelting of the ore
obtained from the mountain in the neighbourhood.
As we approached the village we looked out for the
usual unsightly evidences of a blast furnace, but saw
none. At last the coachman stopped before a large
handsome, and massive building, having a very capacious
central door and a number of windows, a square tower
above them, and on the top of that, a smaller tower, the
whole giving one very much the idea of an observatory ;
however, the coachman declared that it was a blast
furnace, and seeing a vivid glow within through the large
doorway, we concluded that our own impressions were
wrong, and that he must be right.
We entered the building, and saw the base of a blast
furnace, together with a mass of molten metal which
had just flowed out of it. We examined the whole build
ing and found that the square tower was in reality a blast
furnace, most magnificently and expensively constructed,
with storehouses for char^c-oal, ore, &c., adjoining. The
roasting ovens were built round the upper part of the
furnace, and heated by the gas from it.
In the rear was a fine and large blowing machine,
driving five hot-air blasts. The whole building was
replete with conveniences, but constructed totally re
gardless of cost.
We were introduced to an ornamental personage,
wearing a bright purple waistcoat, one of the under
managers. Mr. Bell asked him several technical
questions, but he did not seem to possess sufficient
knowledge to answer them.

178
- The total produce of pig-iron in Austria is 360,000
tons, of which 75 per cent, of 270,000 tons is of superior
quality. The total produce of England is about 4,000,000
of which about 500,000 is of superior quality, or 12
per cent, of the whole.
The chief sources of production are Forderberg in
Styria, and Lolling in Carinthea, but they are still very
small places, and the furnaces are not worked the whole
year round in Forderberg.
They obtain their ore from the Ore Mountain mentioned
previously ; it is brought in summer by a tramway and
thrown into a large warehouse. The ore is brought a
distance of from 9 to 7 miles ; it is both mined and
quarried, but that which is quarried has to be afterwards
sorted, so that it is almost as cheap to mine it.
The ore is worked by the masters in .common, and
after the season is over they meet and determine how
much ore, having regard to the price of Iron and the cost
of charcoal, each shall receive from the general store.
This is, of course, an absurd system. If there were
proper railway communication they would be able to
obtain coke as well as charcoal, and to smelt as much
as they liked, as they have an unlimited supply of ore
in the mountain ; the amount is estimated at over 100
millions of tons, so that there is no fear of exhausting it
just yet.
After we had seen the largest and best blast furnace
we went along the tramway, built for conveying the ore ;
the tramway is solidly built, but the traffic is very
limited. We visited the large magazine where the ore
is stored, and then went up the mountain to where the
ore was worked ; the scenery was beautiful in the
extreme, I think finer than that in the neighbourhood of
Gmunden, although of much the same character.
We arrived at the Quarries where they were getting

179
the ore, and saw them drawing up the trucks full of ore
by filling the empty trucks with water collected for that
purpose from the mountain, so as to counter-balance
them ; certainly a most efficacious and economical way
of effecting their object.
The ore costs at the mine 20 kreutzers per cwt., or 7s.
6d. per ton, and the conveyance, 9 miles over the tram
way, 17 kreutzers per cvvt., or 6s. 4d. per ton — together
14s. 8d. per ton. The ore contains from 40-45 per cent.
of metal, unroasted, and roasted 50-56 percent. Only
about 50,000 tons per year is extracted, and the average
cost, as in the case of the coal, is much increased by the
small amount obtained, which scarcely furnishes a re
spectable traffic for the tramway.
But the great difficulty with regard to increasing the
production is the scarcity and dearness of fuel with
which to smelt the ore.
Some of the charcoal is brought between 40 and 50
miles in carts along country roads, and the average
distance is from 18 to 23 miles ; the charcoal costs
22s. 6d. to 37s. 6d. per ton.
In the largest furnace they can smelt 8,000 tons of
metal, with 5,000 tons of charcoal, which was considered
by Mr, Bell a very moderate proportion of fuel.
With railway communication it is calculated that coke
from Funfirchner would cost from 17s. to 20s. per ton and
1 5 cwt, would be required to a ton of metal, the wages
averaging 5s. per ton, which was considered also very
moderate. In the Carinthian iron district the ore is cheaper, and
the charcoal still dearer than in Styria. In both districts
the average rate for both materials and labour is about
2 fl. per cwt., or 72s. per ton, plus 25 per cent, for the
cost of maintaining the roads, making 2*50 fl. per cent.,
or 90s. per ton.

i8o

The cost of producrion is much increased by its small-
ness, the costliness of the furnaces, bad superintendence,
fete days, and the appropriation of the iron to purposes
for which a much commoner metal would be more
appropriate. After seeing where they were getring the ore for the
furnaces in Forderberg, we descended the opposite side
of the mountain, towards Eisenerz, a government estab
lishment ; on our way we passed the quarries where they
were obtaining the ore from the other side of the same
mountain for the government furnaces.
They had all sorts of costly and wasteful apparatus in
the shape of tramways and shoots, by which the ore was
alternately conveyed, and shot down six times in suc
cession until at last it reached the furnaces in the valley.
The government furnaces were rather more extrava
gantly constructed than the one previously mentioned,
and we were not surprised to hear that they generally
entailed an annual loss.
The metal produced was no doubt of first-rate quality,
but there was so little of it, and it cost so much before
hand, that there was no margin for profit left.
Leaving the immediate subject of iron for a moment,
the scenery of the neighbourhood certainly deserves
mention. As we descended the side of the Ore mountain by a
steep zigzag path, we obtained views successively of, in
some places, different valleys, each of wonderful beauty.
The sides of the mountain were here covered with
forests, the fresh May verdure of which was most beauti
ful ; where the trees and the verdure were absent, and
they displayed their rugged sides and weather-beaten
surfaces to view, they afforded contrasts seldom to be
found in such perfection.
In the first valley, at our feet, lay the village of

i8i

Eisenerz — the valleys on either side were void of habi
tations as far as could be seen — and the second valley
in front, which was visible through a defile between the
mountains, had on its further side, in the far distance,
the ruins of an old castle, the white walls of which stood
out strongly in the sunlight.
After dinner at the village, we returned by the road
through the pass over the ore mountain, passing through
Forderberg, and late in the evening we reached Leoben
(which in comparison seemed to lay in a very flat
country) after an expedition of great beauty and interest.
The next morning we started again for Bruck, and,
taking the train, we proceeded further south to Gratz,
140 miles south from Vienna, where there are some
Bessemer steel works belonging to the railway company.

I82

Pesth, -jth yune, 1865.

I arrived at the Hungarian Capital yesterday afternoon,
and had great difficulty in finding accommodation.
Pesth is very full just now, on account of the visit of
the Emperor of Austria,
The Emperor arrived yesterday morning, and was ex
ceedingly well received.
In the afternoon there was a reception at the old
Palace of the Kings of Hungary in Buda, from which
only three persons of any note were absent.
The Emperor has not visited Pesth for ten years.
A review, which took place early this morning, was
spoiled by the rain.
As the Emperor left the review ground, the cheers of
the people were most enthusiastic.
Pesth is a modern town : it is regularly built, and is
tolerably good looking. The quays on the banks of the
Danube, and the buildings along them are very fine.
I will enquire about the wine you speak of at the first
opportunity.

i83

Pesth, ^th jfune, 1865.

I went yesterday, in company with a gentleman to
whom I had an introduction, to one of the large tobacco
warehouses here.
The Tobacco seemed to be of most excellent quality,
and to be handled in a better and more careful manner
than that I saw last year at Louisville and St. Louis.
At present there are great difficulties in the way of its
cultivation on account of the Government monopoly, but
a considerable quantity is produced notwithstanding, and
this amount could be indefinitely increased, if the re
strictions were removed.
From the tobacco warehouse, I went with the same
gentleman to a large steam flour mill situated in Ofen.
The mill ground 125 tons of Flour per week. Another
mill, twice the size of this one, was in course of
construction. Corn is the chief article of trade here ; the corn comes
up the river from Servia in barges, is unloaded here and
sent forward by railway or otherwise, as is found most
convenient. The harvest this year is expected to be an average one.
On my way to Pesth, while travelling across the
Hungarian plain, its great resemblance to the prairies of
the Western States struck me. The resemblance extends
also to the climate, soil and productions, Indian corn
being very much grown here.
When one sees magnificent corn growing here and in

1 84

America with only the rudest cultivation, and producing
an amount per acre almost unknown in England, one
cannot help thinking that it is a mistake to cultivate
wheat in England, for the mild climate and moist atmos
phere are far more favourable to the growing of grass
and the rearing of cattle than to the cultivation of corn.
I also went, yesterday, to the Agricultural Show, now
open here.
The cattle were generally rather ill-shaped and bony,
but some of the sheep were very fine, and had most
beautiful wool. Mutton is only killed here in the
autumn, and even then the flesh has not the firmness
of that seen in England.
The best agricultural machines were from Messrs,
Clayton and Shuttleworth, of Lincoln, Vienna and
Pesth ; but some very good ones were also shown
by native makers.
The Hungarians are a very interesting people, im
pulsive no doubt, but more capable of rapid progress,
I should think, than the Germans, possessing none of
the inherent slowness of the latter.
The Emperor continues to be greeted most enthusi
astically whenever and wherever he is seen.
The Emperor went yesterday evening, first to the
National Theatre, where he was greeted by the populace ;
and afterwards, to the great Hall in Pesth called The
Ridout, where he was again greeted by the upper classes.
Altogether, I should say that the Emperor's visit has
been a great success, and it seems to have produced a
very good effect.
A remark of the Emperor's to Count Esterhazy a few
days ago in Vienna is worthy of notice ; speaking of
Hungary, the Emperor said " that he and the other
Hungarian nobles must learn to be citizens, instead of
the lords of Hungary."

185

It is said that the Emperor will repeat his visit before
long ; probably to be crowned. He has not yet been
crowned or even acknowledged King of Hungary, but at
present there seems every probability of an early solution
ofthe Hungarian question.
Hungary is making progress, and Pesth is growing
every day. The last census gave it a population of
120,000 souls, but it has probably now about 170,000. It
has received a large accession of Jews, who have quitted
Poland since the late insurrection.
Mr. Halperson, one ofthe firm of Stein, Hirchel & Co.,
to whom I had an introduction, went with me this morn
ing to the largest wine merchants here, Messrs. A. Jalics
and Co., with whom he has some business connection.
We went through the cellars, which are very extensive ;
indeed one could easily lose one's self in them.
They have a system of signals so as to be able to find
any one who happens to be in the cellar when required.
From among a large selection of wine recommended
by Mr. Jalics, junior, as appropriate for England, we
chose the following, from which you can make your own
selection : —

white
fl. per doz.
Hungarian Chablis, nice
hght wine . . .. . . si
Vallanyi Muscat, rather
better. Moselle flavour 6|
Emeleki, very good
indeed  10
Shomlauer, very fine . . 8
Szamorodnyi, a kind of
Tokay  12

red
fl. per doz.
Hungarian Claret, very 5i

nice 
Carlowitz, still better
Menesi, very good
Ofner, Adelberg. .
Ofner, Eigenbau
both very superior.
The florin ia equal to say, as.

12

All these wines can be had in bottle as well as cask.

i86

Mr. Jalics, junior, has been in England, and since his
return they have bottled some of the sorts most appro
priate to the English climate. They seem very desirous
of establishing a connection with England,
The casks usually contain four eimers, or 46 English
gallons. The freight to London would average about 3s.
per dozen.
I shall hope to hear from you soon in return to say
which you have selected.

i87

Trieste, iSth jfune, 1865,

As you have determined to have the wine in casks, I
think it would be better to send some of the higher
qualities, I have a cask price list with me, and I find that red
Menesi (1857) is perhaps the best wine in proportion to
its cost, a cask of 46 gallons would be 85 florins.
For white wine, a cask of 1857 Shomlauer, costing 95
florins, would be very good.
As you wish for a third cask I think you had better
have a cask of the best red wine, either Ofner Adelberg,
or Ofner Eigenbau, the latter would cost 1 65 florins, but
as it obtained a prize at the 1862 Exhibition in London,
and was said to excel some of the Chateau Lafitte, I
think it would be a very safe purchase.
Please let me know as soon as possible so that I may
transmit the order to Pesth,

1 88

Fiume, 12th jfuly, 1865,

I arrived here yesterday about mid-day from Pesth, via
Vienna and St. Peters.
Fiume is rather a nice place, it is situated on a deep
bay of the Adriatic formed by the peninsula of Istria.
The port is good and commodious, and there is plenty
of room for extension in the town ; the only thing that is
required is a railway to Hungary.
The latest news with regard to this project is very
favourable, the Southern Railway Company having with
drawn their opposition.
I am going with Mr. Smith to-morrow to see the
various industrial works in the neighbourhood, foremost
among which is his Paper mill.
The view across the bay towards Istria is very pretty.
I am very delighted to see the sea again.

i89

Fiume, 14/A jfuly, 1865.

Since I wrote to you on the 1 2th instant I have visited
several places of interest. Foremost among them the
Paper Mills of Messrs. Smith & Monier of this town.
The establishment is very extensive, it consists of an
old and a new mill.
They are both situated in the rocky gorge through
which the Fuimana river flows ; they are worked by
water power, but there is only full water power during
six months of the year, half power during three months
and very little at all during the remaining three months.
The water is conveyed to the older or upper mill by
means of a canal 300 feet long, cut through the solid
rock ; a shorter canal, also in the rock, conveys the water
from the old to the new mill.
Previous to 1852 the tunnels through the rock did not
exist, but in that year a flood carried away the existing
hydraulic canal, which, on account of the narrowness of
the gorge and the small amount of space at the banks,
crossed the river several times on bridges ; all these
bridges were destroyed by the flood, and the mill stopped
for six months.
At present they have steam power to assist or take the
place of the water power whenever necessary.
The buildings of the old mill are irregular, having been
constructed as necessity required.
In one portion of the old mill, a machine for the
animal sizing of paper is being erected, at a cost of over
£2,000. It occupies a length of 130 feet; the paper to
be made by it is intended for the English market.
The new mill is a regular building, specially con-

structed ; in it each process is properly provided for and
conveniently arranged.
Each mill contains the ordinary boiling, bleaching,
stewing, grinding, squeezing and other machinery apper
taining to the preparation of pulp for the manufacture of
paper. The machines for making the fine varieties of paper
are in the old mill, and those for making packing, and
other common sorts of paper, in the new.
The paper is largely exported to England and to the
Levant. The stock of rags on the premises amounted to 16.000
cwts., and the stock of paper in Fiume, and at the depots
in Trieste and London, was worth nearly ;f2o,ooo.
The Coal used for the steam engines, is of good quality,
but dear. The mines are not far distant, but they belong
to Baron Rothschild who has a monopoly of them, and
who fixes the price just below that of Newcastle coal.
I afterwards went with Mr. Smith, to whom I am much
indebted for all I saw in Fiume and its neighbourhood,
over the Chemical works and over the joint-stock Iron
works. The chemical works were first intended for the manu
facture of soda, but they did not succeed on account of
the high price of salt and coal, the first caused by the
Government monopoly, and the second by that of Baron
Rothschild, They now manufacture sulphuric acid and alum. The
latter is prepared by the patent process and then refined
twice. It is used in large quantities by the paper mills,
I think it would fare badly with the concern if it were
not for the consumption of the paper mill, as there is
scarcely any outside demand.
The iron works are situated about a mile from Fiume.
The works are well placed and conveniently arranged,

igi
but at present they have not much to do. They are
making, however, a large marine engine of 8oo-horse
power for one ofthe new Austrian iron-clad frigates.
The situation is peculiarly adapted for iron ship build
ing, and the proprietors hope to do something in that line
when Fiume gets a railway.
The railway will have to cross the backbone of the
Adriatic, in order to enter the Hungarian plain.
The mountains composing this chain run parallel, and
very close to the shores of the Adriatic, and the consti
tuent rock is exceedingly hard.
However I believe a very satisfactory line has been
traced out by the Government engineers, and it is to be
hoped that the project will be carried out as soon as
possible. Besides the works just described, Fiume has three
flour mills, not all now in operation ; a tobacco factory
belonging to the Government, a rope walk, and a choco
late mill, which for a town of 15,000 inhabitants is not
bad. I expect to leave for Trieste to-morrow by the diligence.

ig2

Fiume, 15^^ ^une, 1865.

I can now give you some account of my visit to the
Coal mines at Wolfsegg.
I left Vienna in company with Dr. Neumann, and
went by the night train on the Southern Railway to
Swanenstadt, a station 140 miles from Vienna, where
we arrived at 6 a.m. next morning. A carriage had been
previously ordered, in which we immediately proceeded
to Wolfsegg, a small mining village on the northern side
of the railway, and about eight miles distant.
The whole neighbourhood is supposed to contain coal,
but the chief deposit is in the Wolfsegg mountain.
The coal is found in two seams : the lower one from 4
to 8 feet thick, and the upper one from 4 to 6 feet thick.
The intervening strata consists of a few inches of clay,
and then sand, having together a thickness varying from
3 to 5 feet.
The coal, or rather lignite, has unfortunately only a
limited heating power in proportion to its bulk. Sixteen
cwts. of it are equal to a square fathom of wood 30 inches
long, or, more accurately, to go cubic feet of soft wood.
The cost in Vienna is 46 kreutzers, or iid. per cwt., or
16s. 6d. per ton. The cost of Leoben coal in Vienna,
brought about the same distance, is 92 kreutzers, or is,
lod. per cwt., or 33s, per ton. Its burning power is one
quarter greater than that of Wolfsegg coal, 12 cwt. being
equal to 20 cubic feet of wood.
A third kind of Coal is also used in Vienna, viz., that
from Ostrau, in Silesia. This is a black, or bituminous
coal : it costs 86 kreutzers, or is. pd. per cwt., or about
31s. 6d. per ton ; and g^ cwts. of it are equal to go cubic
feet of wood.

193
The Wolfsegg Coal has, however, one very great
advantage, namely, that it contains no sulphur, so that
boilers are not injured by it. This is of considerable
consequence when it is employed for locomotives. The
Western Railway uses it, and consumes the principal
part of what is raised. The total annual produce is
5,000,000 cwts., or 280,000 tons, of which the Western
Railway Company take the greatest part ; some little,
however, being used in the neighbourhood, and also a
little in Vienna, chiefly for manufacturing purposes ; it
yields too much ash to be convenient for domestic use.
We breakfasted in the village and then drove to the
mines. They are worked very easily by a gallery entered
from the side of the hill. The coal is of such consistency
that the workings require very little propping.
The two seams of coal follow the dip of the hill to a
certain extent. The gallery is driven right through the
hill from daylight to daylight.
A gallery is chiefly in the upper coal seam ; but as it
is a dead level, it is sometimes rather below the upper
seam, and at one place touches upon the lower one.
A gallery has also been driven through the lower searn
to about half the length of the upper gallery. This is
merely intended to drain the workings, as the lower seam
has not yet been worked. Shafts and pipes connect the
lower with the upper gallery, and through these the water
flows off with the greatest facility.
Side drifts are driven from the central gallery, and when
the edge of the seam is reached, the coal is gradually
worked out and the roof allowed to fall in. In some
places, the depth below the surface of the hill is so small
that the effects of abstracting a portion of the inside of
the hill are visible outside, in the irregularities and
fissures with which some parts of the side abound.
The coal is worked from both sides of the hill, at two

194

places a considerable distance apart, and is conveyed by
separate tramways to the railway, one of which joins it
at Breitenschutzing, 137 miles from Vienna, and the
other meets it at Arran, a station nine miles further off.
The laden coal-waggons descend both tramways by
their own gravity, and the empty waggons are drawn up
again by horse-power.
On the arrival of the coal at the two places just men
tioned, it is stacked and allowed to remain some time.
It loses a portion of its water, and decreases as much as
from 8 to 12 per cent, in weight, but its heating power
is increased.
The cost of the coal delivered on the railway is about
17 or 18 kreutzers (4d or 4|d.) per cwt., or 6s. or 6s. 6d.
per ton,
I reached Arran in the evening in time for the night
train to Vienna, which arrived at Vienna early the fol
lowing morning, and after a short stoppage went on
again to Pesth.

'95
Trieste, I'jthjune, 1865.
I arrived here early this morning by the diligence from
Fiume. The journey of about 60 miles was performed
in II hours.
The jolting was very considerable, and the amount of
space allowed very small ; there were four people in the
carriage, two of them rather stout, besides several bundles
and band boxes. We were jolted along and against one
another during the whole night ; however, shortly after
daylight we obtained a view of the sea in the distance,
and our hopes of soon arriving at Trieste were much in
creased thereby. As we descended towards Trieste we
passed a string of cattle teams at least half a mile long.
They were conveying wood chiefly for exportation to the
Levant. Trieste is beautifully situated on a fine bay ; the harbour
is tolerably commodious, and is kept in very good order
by the authorities.
The steamers belonging to the Austrian Lloyd lay at
one of the central jetties.
) There is a weekly line of z, 000-ton steamers to Alex
andria, and another to Constantinople, besides other lines
of small steamers running daily or several times a week
to Venice, Fiume,. Pola, &c., and other places on the
Adriatic coast.
The company have a magnificent arsenal on the bay
of Mujio, a bay adjoining that of Trieste, which I hope
to visit during my stay here.
On a promontory projecting from the north western
shore of the bay of Trieste, about seven miles distant, can
be seen Miramar, the marine residence of the Emperor
of Mexico.
It looks very well from a distance, and it is said that
it improves on a nearer view.
I will write again before I leave here.

ig6

Trieste, 21st June, 1865.

Since I wrote to you on the 17th, I have visited the
arsenal belonging to the Austrian Lloyd, and also
Miramar. The arsenal is a very large establishment, having a
frontage of about a mile on the bay of Mudjio.
There are three graving docks, one of them long
enough to take two vessels at once. A considerable
amount of dock accommodation is necessary, as vessels
very quickly become foul and require to be scraped very
often. There is also a jetty with shears and other necessary
apparatus for hoisting boilers and heavy machinery.
There is a long row of very fine workshops for making
everything that may be wanted.
The fitting and erecting shops are very large. The
smithy may be styled a blacksmith's palace ; indeed
expense in the construction does not seem to have been
at all considered.
The workshops seemed all to be fully employed, as
several of the larger vessels belonging to the company
are being lengthened, and numerous others are under
repairs. Their fleet counts altogether 68 steamers.
The company gained last year a burden of 13,000 tons
by lengthening some of their best vessels.
They have just built a large iron steamer of about 2,000
tons called the "Austria,''
It is the first of that size which they have as yet built
themselves. They have also three Clyde-built iron steamers of

197
about the same tonnage ; one of them, which I saw
leave yesterday morning for Egypt, was a very beautiful
vessel and sat very gracefully on the water.
I cannot say that the new steamer constructed by
themselves is as good looking, or that she floats as
gracefully ; I should also doubt whether she will equal
the others in speed, as her lines do not seem to be nearly
so fine. She is however represented to be very strongly
built, her bulkheads come up to her upper deck, an
arrangement not generallj^ considered necessary, and
which will no doubt increase her stiffness but will be
rather inconvenient.
Houses, or rather barracks, for the workpeople have
been built for them in the neighbourhood.
Altogether it is a most complete establishment, no
doubt necessary to the company considering the state
of things here, because there is no other yard where
they could repair their vessels so expeditiously ; but the
arsenal was no doubt very costly to construct, and I
should think to keep up.
The arsenal is about one mile and a-half from Trieste,
The bay of Mujio affords most excellent anchorage for
ships, the vessels of war always lay there. The Govern
ment has a yard almost adjoining that of Lloyd's, but
not nearly so extensive.
A pretty avenue close to the shore leads to both ; this
avenue is a favorite drive of the people of Trieste.
To go by water from the harbour of Trieste to the Bay
of Mujio, it is necessary to round the end of the break
water, which protects the harbour from the swell of the
Adriatic. I went by water to Miramar ; it is certainly a very
beautiful place. It is situated on a rocky promontory,
and close to the water's edge. The building is not
large, it is constructed in the castellated style, but the
architecture presents nothing very striking.

198

There is a little breakwater built from the point of the
promontory which forms a terrace, and at the same time
encloses a small harbour for a yacht and a few boats.
The mountain rises steeply behind the house, and the
garden is therefore laid out in terraces rising one above
the other, which produce a very pretty effect, the plants
contrasting well with the rocks amongst which they are
dispersed. The scenery on the bay is pretty. About half way to
Miramar there is a very good view of the bay and town
of Trieste with the hill behind it, on the N.W. the hills
rise sharply from the side of the water ; the railway to
Vienna passes along these hills, ascending a rather steep
incline until it reaches its highest point some distance
beyond Miramar,
Trieste itself is rather a handsome town ; the ground
upon which the present quays stand has been recovered
from the sea. The buildings facing the sea are fine.
The new Exchange is a very commodious building, and
much thronged during business hours. It is said that
trade is dull here at present, but there still seems to be a
good deal doing.
I propose leaving for Vienna to-morrow, and you will
most probably next hear from me after I arrive in Prague.

199

Gotha, 2nd July, 1865.

I have not yet told you anything, either about Prague,
or the Coal districts of Bohemia.
Except Nuremberg, Prague is the most old fashioned
town I have ever seen. It is situated on the Moldau, a
tributary of the Elbe, but it is above the navigable portion
of that river. It possesses some iron works and a few
other factories, but it is of more historical interest than
present commercial importance.
The old castle with the cathedral in the middle is a
very interesting and curious old place.
A very ancient Jewish synagogue and burying ground
on the Jewish quarter are especially remarkable, the
graveyard is at least 23 feet higher than it was originally ;
the increase of height was caused by the practice, which
the Jews had of burying the bodies by placing them on
the ground and covering them with earth, this process
repeated over a limited area a great number of times
naturally raises the surface of the burying, and so mul
tiplies the gravestones that there is scarcely space to
place any more.
Wallenstein's Palace, and the Old Town Hall, with a
very ancient chapel, and a council chamber still pre
serving its mediaeval decorations, are both historically
curious. The old town gates remain standing, and the
whole place has a great air of bygone times.
The neighbourhood of Prague abounds in pretty

200 scenery ; its position was formerly one very capable
of defence, and even some few defensive works are still
kept up on the northern side
From Prague I went to Aussig, a town situated on the
Elbe, very near to the head of the navigation on that
river. The railway follows the course of the Elbe, which
flows through some very narrow and confined gorges
during its passage through the chain of mountains on
the borders of Bohemia, to enter into the great and
broafi valley in which it continues till it reaches the sea.
The upper course of the Elbe presents a great contrast
to the lower. As far as Pirna, in Saxony, the Elbe
flows through a very confined valley, but from Pirna to
the sea its course is through a vast and almost level
plain. The scenery on its upper course is very pretty,
and between Bodenbach and Pirna it is very fine. This
part of the country is called the Saxon Switzerland. It
abounds in curious formations of sandstone rock, which
rise abruptly from the surface of the country, often to a
great elevation (from 200 to 600 feet). One of the
largest of these, called Koenigstein, is 600 feet high ; it
has been a fortress for centuries. It was formerly con
sidered the key of Saxony ; it boasts of being the only
fortress which ever baffled Napoleon, although I imagine
that against the increased range of modern artillery it is
scarcely impregnable.
However, to return to Aussig. A branch railway runs
from Aussig to Toplitz, a distance of about 1 2 miles. It
passes through a very rich Coal region. The coal lies
in a basin similar to that of Leoden, but of much greater
extent. It is of very good quality, 12 cwt. being equal
to a square fathom of wood 30 inches in length. Its
price is 13 kreutzers, or 3d. per cwt,, or 5s, per ton at
Aiissig.

2© I

The district produces yearly 700,000 tons,
I visited one of the mines, from which 75,000 tons are
drawn yearly.
The coal is drawn from shafts about 120 feet deep,
each mine having an upcast and a downcast shaft, and
being ventilated in the usual manner. In the mine I
saw 150 workmen were employed, at wages rather above
the average of those in Styria. The coal is of such
consistency that very little wood is required to support
the roof of the workings.
They have such an abundance of room in the mine
that they get the coal and then pile it up in readiness to
be drawn out when required. The mine I speak of sup
plied a large sugar mill in the neighbourhood, which was
a considerable but not a regular consumer, so they kept
the coal in the manner described until it was wanted.
There are numerous factories in the neighbourhood of
various kinds, Iron, Sugar, Chemicals, &c., all attracted
by the abundance and cheapness of coal.
From the very favourable situation of Aussig there is
every probabiHty of its rising into a place of considerable
importance. It already possesses steam communication with
Dresden several times a day, besides the railway. The
branch railway is to be extended from Toplitz to Hof,
where it will join the general system of German
Railways. There is also a project for a railway eastward to
Reichenberg, where it would join the railway system of
Eastern Bohemia.
A harbour is being constructed in which vessels may
winter safely from the ice, and the navigation of the Elbe
is being improved.
Bodenbach, 10 miles below Aussig, is the frontier of
Saxony, and the commencement of the Saxon Switzer
land,

202 There are numerous quarries on the banks of the river
where building stone is obtained, prepared on the spot,
and sent by water to Dresden and other places.
This portion of the course of the Elbe is now very
much visited by tourists, on account of its beautiful and
remarkable scenery. The sandstone formations pre
viously mentioned rise perpendicularly above the ordinary
surface ; their summits are generally wooded, and the
contrast between the bare rock and the foliage is very
beautiful. Bodenbach and Konigstein are favourite places of
summer resort of the Dresdeners.
From Aussig I came through Dresden and Liepzig
hither, and from here I intend to go back to England,
so that I do not suppose I shall find anything more to
describe to you, as you have traversed the route.
W.T.N.

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