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25. The Project Gutenberg eBook of Flagg's The
Far West, 1836-1837, part 2; and De Smet's
Letters and Sketches, 1841-1842
26. This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
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you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Flagg's The Far West, 1836-1837, part 2; and De Smet's
Letters and Sketches, 1841-1842
Author: Edmund Flagg
Pierre-Jean de Smet
Editor: Reuben Gold Thwaites
Release date: February 13, 2013 [eBook #42090]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Douglas L. Alley, III, Greg Bergquist and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net
(This file was produced from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FLAGG'S THE FAR
WEST, 1836-1837, PART 2; AND DE SMET'S LETTERS AND
SKETCHES, 1841-1842 ***
28. A View of the Rocky Mountains
Early Western Travels
1748-1846
A Series of Annotated Reprints of some of the best and
rarest contemporary volumes of travel, descriptive of the
Aborigines and Social and Economic Conditions in the Middle
and Far West, during the Period of Early American
Settlement
Edited with Notes, Introductions, Index, etc., by
Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D.
29. Editor of "The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents," "Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition," "Hennepin's New Discovery," etc.
Volume XXVII
Part II of Flagg's The Far West, 1836-1837; and De Smet's Letters and
Sketches, 1841-1842
Cleveland, Ohio
The Arthur H. Clark Company
1906
Copyright 1906, by
THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Lakeside Press
R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY
CHICAGO
31. CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXVII
I
The Far West; or, A Tour beyond the Mountains.
Embracing Outlines of Western Life and Scenery;
Sketches of the Prairies, Rivers, Ancient Mounds,
Early Settlements of the French, etc., etc.
(Chapters xxxiii-xli of Vol. II, completing the
publication). Edmund Flagg
Author's Table of Contents 15
Text 19
II
Letters and Sketches: with a Narrative of a Year's
Residence among the Indian Tribes of the Rocky
Mountains. Pierre Jean de Smet, S. J.
Author's Preface 129
Text:
BOOK I: Letters I-XII, February
4-December 30, 1841 133
BOOK II: Narrative of a Year's
Residence among the Indian
Tribes of the Rocky
Mountains (comprised in
Letters XIII-XVI, August 15-
November 1, 1842) 321
33. ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME XXVII
"A View of the Rocky Mountains." From De
Smet's Letters and Sketches Frontispiece
Allegorical sketch 126
Facsimile of title-page, De Smet's Letters
and Sketches 127
"Worship in the Desert" 139
"Kanza Village" 195
"Interior of a Kanza Lodge" 203
"Chimney" 217
"Devil's Gate" 239
"Soda Springs" 245
"Fording the River Platte" 271
"Sheyenne Warriors" 275
"Indian Mode of Travelling" 325
"Apparition" 345
"Indian Symbolical Catechism"—folding
plate 403
34. Part II of Flagg's The Far West, 1836-1837
Reprint of chapters xxxiii-xli of Volume II of original edition: New
York, 1838
35. CONTENTS
XXXIII
Blackness of Darkness—Fall of a Forest-tree—A
sublime Incident—Musings—A Moral—A Wolf—
A Meal—A Mistake—A broiling Sun—The
"Heights of Chester"—A noble View—An Island
—A "Bend"—A Steamer—Chester—Site and
Anticipations—A romantic Pathway—The
Sycamores—The Undergrowth—The Bluffs—
Forest Quietude—The wild-grape Vines—Size,
Tortuosity, and Tenacity—A Juliet-bower—A
Prediction—Kaskaskia Bottom—An elegant
Farm and Mansion—The Outhouses—The
Harvest-fields and Grounds—The Bluffs—The
Village 19
XXXIV
Antiqueness—A Proposition and Corollary—"All is
New"—Freshness of Natural Scenery—The
immigrant Inhabitants—An Exception—A
serious Duty—A laudable Resolution—A gay
Bevy—A Hawser-ferry—A Scene on the
Kaskaskia—"Old Kaskaskia"—Structure of
Dwellings—Aspect of Antiquity—A Contrast
—"City of the Pilgrims"—The Scenes of a
Century—Lane-like Streets—Old Customs
—"The Parallel ceases"—The same Fact with
the Spaniards—The Cause—The French
Villagers—The Inn-gallery—A civil Landlord—
26
36. The Table d'Hôte—A Moonlight Ramble—The
old Church—The Courthouse—The fresh Laugh
—The Piano—The Brunettes
XXXV
The Explorers of the West—The French Jesuits—
Cause of the Undertaking—The Tale of the
Hunters—Marquette and Joliet viii—Their
Exploration—The Natives—The Illini—A Village
—Manito of the Missouri—The Illinois—Amazed
Delight—Joliet's Narrative—Marquette—Name
to the River—Joliet's Reward—Lapse of Years—
M. Robert, Cavalier de la Salle—His Talent,
Ambition, and Enterprise—Visit to Canada—
Success at Paris—Tonti and Hennepin—
Exploration—The Illinois—An Indian Village—
The Hoard of Corn—Peoria Lake—Treatment by
the Natives—Loss of the Supply-boat—Fort
"Creve Cœur"—Its Site—"Spring Bay"—The
Indian War—Danger of La Salle—The Mutiny—
The Poison—Exploration of the Mississippi—
The Falls—Captivity—Hennepin's Travels—
Character of these early Writers—"Fort St.
Louis"—Second Expedition of La Salle—The
Osage—A Village of Natives—The Oubachi—
Fort Prudhomme—Formal Possession—
Louisiana—Ceremonies at the Gulf—River "St.
Louis"—Villages founded—Fate of La Salle—
Retributive Justice—Fate of Marquette—
Decease and Burial—Canadian Colonies—Their
Design—Mining Expeditions—M. de Seur—
Disappointment—Couriers du bois—Petits
Paysans—Merry Mortals—Origin of Kaskaskia—
Name—Depôt of Fur-trade—De Soto and the
Tradition—His Death and Burial—Original
34
37. Extent of Kaskaskia—The "Common Field"—
The Grant—Policy of French and Spanish
Governments—"Common Fields" and
"Commons"—Regulations—Congress-grants—
Harmony with the Savages—The Cause—
Exaggeration—Early Peace and Prosperity—
Jesuit College—Law's Scheme—The Design—
Les Illinois—The Failure—The "South Sea
Bubble"—Prosperity of Kaskaskia—Luxuriance
of Agriculture—A chimerical Design—Cession
and Recession—An unwelcome Change—
Removal and the Causes
XXXVI
Portraiture of Character—The Difficulty—The French
Villager of the Mississippi—His ordinary
Deportment—Hospitality—Laws and Courts—
Scholastic Proficiency—Affairs of the Nation
—"A Burden!"—Their Virtues—The Helpmate—
Religious Faith—Festivals—Their Property—The
Change—Their Avocations—Their Idiom—A
Contrast—The Peculiarities—Costume—
Amusements—Slaves—Early Government—An
unwelcome Change—"Improvement!"—A
hateful ix Term—The Steam-engine—The old
Edifices—The Streets—Advantages of the
Change—The Contrast—The poorer Class—
Evils of the Change—Superior Enterprise 52
XXXVII
Delay on an interesting Subject—Peculiarities of
French and Spanish Villages similar—Social
Intercourse—Old Legends—Dreamy Seclusion
—Commercial Advantages of Kaskaskia—The
59
38. Trade—The River—The Land-office—Population
—Fort Gage—Clarke's Expedition—The Catholic
Church—Erection—Its Exterior—The Interior—
The Altar-lamp—Structure of the Roof—
Surprise of the Villagers—Interdict on the
Architect—The Belfry—The Bell—View from the
Tower—The Churchyard—The first Record—Old
Chronicles—The Nunnery—The Seminary—
Departure from Kaskaskia—Farms of the
French—A Reminiscence—"Indian Old Point"—
Extermination of the Norridgewocks—Details—
The Obelisk to Father Rasle—Route to Prairie
du Rocher—Aubuchon—Profusion of wild Fruit
—Nuts—Grapes—A Wine Story—Mode of
Manufacture—The Cliffs of Prairie du Rocher
—"Common Field"—Productions—The Bayou—
A Scene of Blood—A Century Slumber—
Peculiarities—View from the Cliffs—
Petrifactions—Simplicity and Ignorance—
Characteristics of the French Villager—The
Catholic Church—Unhealthy Site—Cause of a
Phenomenon
XXXVIII
The Western Valley—Early Conception of its Extent
inadequate—The French Cordon of Fortification
—Origin of the Policy—Stations of Posts
erected—Fort Chartres—Groves of wild Fruit—
The Dark-browed Villager—His direction to the
Ruins—Desertion and Dreariness of the Spot—
Solemn Effect of the old Pile in the Forest—
Coup d'œil—The Mississippi Slough—Erection
of Fort Chartres—The Design—Expense—
Material—Rebuilding—Village Cession,
Recession, and the Results—Seat of Power—
73
39. Form and Extent—Preservation of the Masonry
—French Engineering—Original Structure of
the Fortress—The Pride of its Prime—Its
Scenes—The "Golden Age"—The "old
Residenters"—The Pomp of War—A Shelter for
the Night
x XXXIX
Fort Chartres—A romantic Scene—Legendary Lore
—Erection of Fort Chartres—Enormous
Expenditure—Needless Strength—The
Engineer—His Fate—The "Buried Treasure"—
The Money-diggers—Their Success—The
"Western Hannibal"—Expedition against
Vincennes—Capture of the French Villages—
Siege of Fort Chartres—A successful Ruse du
Guerre—A Scrap of History—The Capture of
Fort Vincent—The Stratagem—Fort Du Quesne
—Erection and History—Useless Strength—A
Morning Scene—Philippe Francis Renault—His
Mining Operations—The Village St. Philippe—
The Cottonwood Forest—The Mississippi!—A
Mistake—A weary Plod—An Atmosphere of
Pestilence—Causes of Disease—Salubrious Site
for a Cabin—Precautions for the Emigrant—
Diseases of the West—Fevers—Sickly Months
—"Milk Sickness"—Its Cause and Effects—
Fever and Ague—An Escape—A sick Family—
The Consumptive—Refreshment—An early
Settler 85
XL
The "Squatter"—His Character and Person—A View
from the Bluffs—The ancient Indian Village—
97
40. Reliques—The Squatter's Reflections—His
Wanderings—A Discovery—The Grave of a
Chief—The Ancient Burial-grounds—Human
Remains—A Coffin of Stone—The "Pigmy
Race"—An Investigation—Ancient Pottery—The
Turtle—The Sink-holes—Waterloo—Its Windmill
and Courthouse—Bellefontaine—An evening
Ride—"Hail Columbia!"—An immortal Name—A
very poor Pun—A miserable Night—A pleasant
Dawn—The American Bottom—Its Name—
Extent—Boundaries—Bluffs—Lakes, their
Cause and Consequence—Disease an Obstacle
to Settlement—The Remedy—The Grand
Marais—The Soil—Its Fertility—The appropriate
Production
XLI
The American Bottom—Its alluvial Character—An
interesting Query—The Ancient Lake—The
Southern Limit—The Parapet of Stone—Alluvial
Action on the Cliffs—A similar Expansion—The
Eastern Limit and the Western—The "Mamelle
xi Prairie"—Elevation of Country North—Cause
of the Draining—The Rocks at "Grand Tower"—
Abrasion of Waters—Volcanic Action—A Tide-
spring—The "Blockhouse"—Geology of the
Region—Volcanic Convulsions—Impress of
Omnipotence—Reflections suggested—
Ignorance and Indifference on the Subject—
Remarks of Dr. Buckland and Cuvier—A very
ancient Revolution—Huge Remains—Theory of
Cuvier—Productions of the American Bottom—
The Farms—Prairie-flowers—Mounds—Prairie
du Pont—Refreshment—A novel Churn—A
disagreeable Village—Cahokia—The Indian
108
41. Tribe—The Settlement—The Mississippi—The
Creek—Harmonious Intercourse—A Contrast—
Early Inhabitants of Cahokia—Peculiarities of
the Village—The "Common Field"—Grant of
Congress—Cahokia at the present Time—
Route to St. Louis—Sunset on the Water—View
of the City—Moonlight—Arrival at St. Louis—A
Farewell!
44. XXXIII[1]
"Stranger, if thou hast learn'd a truth which needs
Experience more than reason, that the world
Is full of guilt and misery, and hast known
Enough of all its sorrows, crimes, and cares
To tire thee of it; enter this wild wood,
And view the haunts of Nature."
Bryant.
The moon had gone down; the last star had burned out in the
firmament; and that deep darkness which precedes the dawn was
brooding over the earth as the traveller turned away from the little
inn at the village of Pinkneyville. Fortunately he had, the previous
evening, while surveying the face of the region from the door of the
hostelrie, gained some general idea of the route to 127 Kaskaskia;
and now, dropping the reins upon his horse's neck, he began
floundering along through a blackness of darkness perfectly
Cimmerian. It was, indeed, a gloomy night. The early mists were
rising, damp and chill, from the soil saturated with the showers of
the preceding day; and the darkness had become of a density
almost palpable to the sense. Crossing a narrow arm of the prairie in
the direction presumed to be correct, my horse carried me into a
dense wood, and, if possible, the darkness increased. I had
penetrated some miles into the heart of the forest, and was
advancing slowly upon my way, when my attention was suddenly
arrested by a low, whispering, rustling sound in the depths of the
wood at my right; this gradually increasing, was almost immediately
succeeded by a crashing, thundering, rushing report, till every echo
far and wide in that dark old wood was wakened, and the whole
forest for miles around resounded with the roar. My horse, terrified
at the noise, leaped and plunged like a mad creature. An enormous
45. forest-tree had fallen within a dozen rods of the spot on which I
stood. As I left the noble ruin and resumed my lonely way, my mind
brooded over the event, and I thought I could perceive in the
occurrence a powerful feature of the sublime. The fall of an aged
tree in the noiseless lapse of time is ever an event not unworthy of
notice; but, at a moment like this, it was surely so in an eminent
degree. Ages since—long ere the first white man had pressed the
soil of this Western world, and while the untamed denizens of the
wilderness 128 roamed in the freedom of primitive creation—ages
since had seen the germe of that mighty tree lifting up its young,
green leaf from the sod, beneath the genial warmth of the sunlight
and the summer wind. An age passed away. The tender stem had
reared itself into a gigantic pillar, and proudly tossed its green head
amid the upper skies: that young leaf, expanded and developed, had
spread itself abroad, until, at length, the beasts of the earth had
sought out its shade, and the tree stood up the monarch of the
forest. Another age is gone, and the hoary moss of time is flaunting
to the winds from its venerable branches. Long ago the thunderbolt
had consecrated its lofty top with the baptismal of fire, and, sere
and rifted, the storm-cloud now sings through its naked limbs. Like
an aged man, its head is bleached with years, while the strength and
verdure of ripened maturity yet girdle its trunk. But the worm is at
the root: rottenness at the heart is doing its work. Its day and its
hour are appointed, and their bounds it may not pass. That hour,
that moment is come! and in the deep, pulseless stillness of the
night-time, when slumber falleth upon man and Nature pauses in
her working, the offspring of centuries is laid low, and bows himself
along the earth. Yet another age is gone; but the traveller comes not
to muse over the relics of the once-glorious ruin. Long ago has each
been mouldering away, and their dust has mingled with the common
mother of us all. Ah! there is a moral in the falling of an aged tree!
129 I was dwelling with rather melancholy reflections upon this
casual occurrence, when a quick panting close at my side attracted
my attention; a large, gaunt-looking prairie-wolf had just turned on
his heel and was trotting off into the shade. The gray dawn had now
46. begun to flicker along the sky, and, crossing a beautiful prairie and
grove, I found myself at the pleasant farmhouse of a settler of some
twenty or thirty years' standing; and dismounting, after a ride of
eighteen miles, I partook, with little reluctance or ceremony, of an
early breakfast. Thus much for the night adventures of a traveller in
the woods and wilds of Illinois! My host, the old gentleman to whom
I have referred, very sagely mistook his guest for a physician, owing
to a peculiarly convenient structure of those indispensables ycleped
saddle-bags; and was just about consulting his fancied man of
medicines respecting the ailings of his "woman," who was reclining
on a bed, when, to his admiration, he was undeceived.
Passing through an inconsiderable village on the north side of the
Little Vermillion called Georgetown, my route lay through an
extended range of hills and barrens.[2] Among the former were
some most intolerably tedious, especially to a horseman beneath a
broiling sun, who had passed a sleepless night: but the sweep of
scenery from their summits was beautiful and extensive. At length
the traveller stood upon the "heights of Chester," and the broad
Mississippi was rolling on its turbid floods a hundred yards beneath.
The view is here a noble 130 one, not unlike that from the Alton or
Grafton bluffs at the other extremity of the "American Bottom,"
though less extensive. Directly at the feet of the spectator, scattered
along a low, narrow interval, lies the village of Chester. Upon the
opposite bank the forest rolls away to the horizon in unbroken
magnificence, excepting that here and there along the bottom the
hand of cultivation is betrayed by the dark luxuriance of waving
maize-fields. A beautiful island, with lofty trees and green smiling
meadows, stretches itself along in the middle of the stream before
the town, adding not a little to the picturesqueness of the scene,
and, in all probability, destined to add something more to the future
importance of the place. To the right, at a short distance, come in
the soft-flowing waters of the Kaskaskia through deeply-wooded
banks; and nearly in the same direction winds away the mirror-
surface of the Mississippi for twenty miles, to accomplish a direct
passage of but four, an occurrence by no means unusual in its
47. course. As I stood gazing upon the scene, a steamer appeared
sweeping around the bend, and, puffing lazily along with the current
past the town, soon disappeared in the distance. From the heights
an exceedingly precipitous pathway leads down to the village.
Chester is one of the new places of Illinois, and, of course, can boast
but little to interest the stranger apart from the highly scenic beauty
of its situation.[3] It has been mostly erected within the few years
past; and, for its extent, is a flourishing business place. Its landing is
excellent, location healthy, 131 adjacent region fertile, and, for aught
I know to the contrary, may, in course of years, rival even the far-
famed Alton. Its landing, I was informed, is the only one for many
miles upon the river, above or below, suitable for a place of
extensive commerce.
From Chester, in a direction not far from north, a narrow pathway
winds along beneath the bluffs, among the tall cane-brakes of the
bottom. Leaving the Mississippi at the mouth of the Kaskaskia, it
runs along the low banks of the latter stream, and begins to assume
an aspect truly delightful. Upon either side rise the shafts of
enormous sycamores to the altitude of an hundred feet, and then,
flinging abroad and interlacing their long branches, form a living arch
of exquisite beauty, stretching away in unbroken luxuriance for
miles. Beneath springs from the rich loam a dense undergrowth of
canes; a profusion of wild vines and bushes clustering with fruit
serving effectually to exclude the sunbeams, except a few checkered
spots here and there playing upon the foliage, while at intervals
through the dark verdure is caught the flashing sheen of the moving
waters. Upon the right, at the distance of only a few yards, go up
the bluffs to the sheer height of some hundred feet, densely clothed
with woods. The path, though exceedingly narrow and serpentine, is
for the most part a hard-trodden, smooth, and excellent one when
dry. The coolness and fragrance of these deep, old, shadowy
woodlands has always for me a resistless charm. There is so much
of quiet seclusion from the feverish turmoil of ordinary life within 132
their peaceful avenues, that, to one not wedded to the world, they
are ever inexpressibly grateful.
48. "The calm shade
Shall bring a kindred calm, and the sweet breeze,
That makes the green leaves dance, shall waft a balm
To thy sick heart. Thou wilt find nothing here
Of all that pain'd thee in the haunts of men,
And made thee loathe thy life."
In the wild, fierce glaring of a summer noontide, when amid "the
haunts of men" all is parched up, and dusty, and scathed, how
refreshingly cool are the still depths of the forest! The clear crystal
streamlet gushes forth with perennial laughter from the rock,
seeming to exult in its happy existence; the bright enamelled mosses
of a century creep along the gnarled old roots, and life in all its fairy
forms trips forth to greet the eremite heart and charm it from the
world. But there was one feature of the scene through which I was
passing that struck me as peculiarly imposing, and to which I have
not yet referred. I allude to the enormous, almost preternatural
magnitude of the wild-grape vine, and its tortuosity. I have more
than once, in the course of my wanderings, remarked the
peculiarities of these vast parasites; but such is the unrivalled
fertility, and the depth of soil of the Kaskaskia bottom, that
vegetation of every kind there attains a size and proportion
elsewhere almost unknown. Six or seven of these vast vegetable
serpents are usually beheld leaping forth with a broad whirl from the
mould at the root of a tree, and then, writhing, and twining, and
twisting 133 among themselves into all imaginable forms, at length
away they start, all at once and together, in different directions for
the summit, around which they immediately clasp their bodies, one
over the other, and swing depending in festoons on every side.
Some of these vines, when old and dried up by the elements, are
amazingly strong; more so, perhaps, than a hempen hawser of the
same diameter.
Having but a short ride before me the evening I left Chester, I
alighted from my horse, and leisurely strolled along through this
beautiful bower I have been attempting to describe. What a
49. charming spot, thought I, for a Romeo and Juliet!—pardon my
roving fancy, sober reader—but really, with all my own sobriety, I
could not but imagine this a delightful scene for a "Meet me by
moonlight alone," or any other improper thing of the kind, whether
or not a trip to Gretna Green subsequently ensued. And if, in coming
years, when the little city of Chester shall have become all that it
now seems to promise, and the venerable Kaskaskia, having cast her
slough, having rejuvenated her withered energies, and recalled the
days of her pristine traditionary glory; if then, I say, the young men
and maidens make not this the consecrated spot of the long
summer-evening ramble and the trysting-place of the heart, reader,
believe us not; in the dignified parlance of the corps editorial,
believe us not.
Some portions of the Kaskaskia bottom have formerly, at different
times, been cleared and cultivated; but nothing now remains but the
ruins of 134 tenements to acquaint one with the circumstance. The
spot must have been exceedingly unhealthy in its wild state. There
is, however, one beautiful and extensive farm under high cultivation
nearly opposite Kaskaskia, which no traveller can fail to observe and
admire. It is the residence of Colonel M——, a French gentleman of
wealth, who has done everything a cultivated taste could dictate to
render it a delightful spot.[4] A fine, airy farmhouse stands beneath
the bluffs, built after the French style, with heavy roof, broad
balconies, and with a rare luxury in this region—green Venetian
blinds. The outhouses, most of them substantially constructed of
stone, are surpassed in beauty and extent only by the residence
itself. Fields yellow with golden harvest, orchards loaded with fruit,
and groves, and parks, and pastures sprinkled with grazing cattle,
spread out themselves on every side. In the back-ground rise the
wooded bluffs, gracefully rounded to their summits, while in front
roams the gentle Kaskaskia, beyond which, peacefully reposing in
the sunlight, lay the place of my destination.
Kaskaskia, Ill.
51. XXXIV
"Protected by the divinity they adored, supported by the earth
which they cultivated, and at peace with themselves, they
enjoyed the sweets of life without dreading or desiring
dissolution."—Numa Pompilius.
"A pleasing land of drowsy head it was,
Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye."
Castle of Indolence.
In a country like our own, where everything is fresh and recent, and
where nothing has yet been swept by the mellowing touch of
departed time, any object which can lay but the most indifferent
claim to antiquity fails not to be hailed with delighted attention. "You
have," say they of the other hemisphere, "no ivy-mantled towers; no
moss-grown, castellated ruins; no donjon-keeps rearing in dark
sublimity their massive walls and age-bleached battlements; nothing
to span the mighty chasm of bygone years, and to lead down the
fancy into the shadowy realms of the past; and, therefore, your
country is steril in moral interest." Now, though this corollary is
undoubtedly false, I yet believe the proposition in the main to be
true: especially is this the case with regard to that region which lies
west of the Alleghany range. Little as there may be in the elder
sections of our Atlantic states to demand veneration for the past, no
sooner does the traveller find himself gliding along the silvery wave
136 of the "beautiful river," than at the same moment he finds
himself forsaking all that the fairy creations of genius have ever
consecrated, or the roll of the historian chronicled for coming time.
All is NEW. The very soil on which he treads, fertile beyond
comparison, and festering beneath the undisturbed vegetation of
centuries; the rolling forests, bright, luxuriant, gorgeous as on the
52. dawn of creation; the endless streams pouring onward in their fresh
magnificence to the ocean, all seem new. The inhabitants are
emigrants late from other lands, and every operation of human skill
on which the eye may rest betrays a recent origin. There is but a
single exception to these remarks—those mysterious monuments of
a race whom we know not of!
In consideration, therefore, of the circumstance that antiquities in
this blessed land of ours are, indeed, very few and far between, I
deem it the serious duty of every traveller, be he virtuoso or be he
not, whenever once so happy as to lay his grasp upon an antique "in
any form, in any shape," just to hold fast to the best of his ability!
Such, reader, be it known, was my own praiseworthy determination
when drawing nigh to the eastern shore of the stream opposite the
ancient French village Kaskaskia. The sun was going down, and as I
approached the sandy edge of the sea-green water, a gay bevy of
young folks were whirling the long, narrow, skiff-like ferry-boat like a
bird across the stream, by means of a hawser to which it was
attached, and which extended from shore to shore. In my own turn I
stepped into the boat, and in a few moments the old French 137
negro had forced it half across the river, at this spot about three or
four hundred yards in width. For one who has ever visited Kaskaskia
in the last beautiful days of summer, a pen like my own need hardly
be employed to delineate the loveliness of the scene which now
opened upon the view. For miles the gleamy surface of the gentle
Kaskaskia might be seen retreating from the eye, till lost at length in
its windings through the forests of its banks, resting their deep
shadows on the stream in all the calm magnificence of inanimate
nature. The shore I was leaving swelled gracefully up from the
water's edge, clothed in forests until it reached the bluffs, which
towered abrupt and loftily; while here and there along the landscape
the low roof of a log cabin could be caught peeping forth from the
dark shrubbery. The bank of the stream I was approaching
presented an aspect entirely the reverse; less lovely, but more
picturesque. A low sandy beach stretched itself more than a mile
along the river, destitute of trees, and rounding itself gently away
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