CHAPTER XXXIV
Proceed on foot—Washington—Frankfort—Morristown—Usual consequences of a militia muster—St. Clairsville—Another traveller—Indian Wheeling—Canton—River Ohio and Zane’s island—Wheeling—Part with my fellow traveller.
Proceed on foot—Washington—Frankfort—Morristown—Usual consequences of a militia muster—St. Clairsville—Another traveller—Indian Wheeling—Canton—River Ohio and Zane’s island—Wheeling—Part with my fellow traveller.
On Tuesday the 18th August, the stage being only to go fifteen miles, and the same distance next day, on account of the arrangement of the carriage of the mails, rather than travel such a snail’s pace, I proceeded on foot, leaving my baggage to follow in the stage. The first five miles were excellent road, over a long but not very high ridge of hills,without a single house to Washington, or Beymerstown, as it is more generally called, from its being owned by the family of Beymer, two of whom keep taverns in it.—It has twelve cabins, four of which are taverns, and a blacksmith’s shop.
Four and a half miles further have no inhabitants; the road is still good, but is led over several high, short and steep ridges, which generally run from north to south. Then passing a cabin and farm, in half a mile more I came to Frankfort or Smithstown, where I breakfasted. This is a small village or rather hamlet of eight or ten houses and cabins, some of which, as well as several in the neighbourhood, are inhabited by families from Peeks-hill in New York, many of whom regret their having removed {209} from thence to this place, and with great reason, if one may judge from the appearance of the soil, which is all a red and yellow clay, very stiff, and apparently very unproductive.
The country now became better settled, but still continued very hilly. I walked on, passing Wherry’s tavern where the stage was to sleep at five miles, and stopping at Bradshaw’s, where I rested about half an hour, and got some refreshment. This family is from the county Monaghan in Ireland. Their house is too small for an inn, but they have a good farm. Ten miles further brought me to Morristown, through a similar hilly country, with a succession of woods and farms, the latter at every mile, and a tavern at every two miles.
On the road I met in straggling parties above fifty horsemen with rifles, who had been in Morristown at a militia muster, for the purpose of volunteering, or of being drafted to serve against Britain, in case of a war with that country, now much talked of. Most of them were above half seasover, and they travelled with much noise—some singing, some swearing, some quarrelling, some laughing, according to their different natural dispositions, which are always most manifest when in that unguarded situation.
I found Morristown, where I arrived just before dark, all in a bustle from the same cause, many of the country people remaining to a late hour, drinking and fighting.
My host Morrison who is a justice of the peace, and a major of the militia, had shut his house against them, but there was another tavern, where squire Morrison, while commanding the peace, during an affray, came in for his share of the blows, and had his shirt torn.
I got a very good supper—bathed my feet and went to bed in a room where a man and his wife, a young married couple, in another bed, acted over a {210} similar scene to what I had experienced at New Lancaster, keeping me awake chatting to me until a very late hour.
After a short but sound sleep, I awoke at an early hour well refreshed, and pushed on eleven miles to St. Clairsville, through a fine, well improved, and well inhabited country, which was still hilly, but the ridges were neither so steep nor so high, as they are in general at this side of Chilicothe.
I stopped at Thompson’s stage inn, where Mrs. Thompson who was very civil, prepared me a good breakfast.
St. Clairsville, or Newelstown, as it is more frequently improperly called, is the capital of Belmont county, and is pleasantly situated on the point and top of the highest hill within sight, from whence twelve or fourteen miles of ridges and woods may be seen in every direction, some of them across the Ohio, which I was now again approaching. The town is only about four years old, and already contains eighty good houses, including several stores and taverns. It has acourt-house and gaol, and altogether it has the greatest appearance of wealth and business of any town between Chilicothe and itself. There are several Quakers, settled in the neighbourhood, who are a snug, wealthy and industrious people, and who enhance the value of real property in a wide extent around the focus of their settlements.
Leaving St. Clairsville at eleven o’clock, I joined a footman named Musgrave, who was going to Morgantown in Virginia, to collect money to pay off some incumbrances on his lands below Limestone. He was a plain man, but an intelligent, expeditious and economical traveller, whose company shortened the road to Wheeling. It is a well settled country and a fine road, the first six miles from St. Clairsville. We then descended a long hill into the river bottom of Indian Wheeling, where we came to a good grist {211} and saw mill. Keeping down that fine little mill river five miles to its confluence with the Ohio, we forded it five times in that distance.
On the banks of the Ohio is a new town called Canton, laid out by Mr. Zane last year, which has now thirteen houses. We here crossed a ferry of a quarter of a mile to Zane’s island, which we walked across, upwards of half a mile, through a fertile, extensive, and well cultivated farm, the property of Mr. Zane, some of whose apples, pulled from the orchard in passing, were very refreshing to us, while we sat on the bank nearly an hour awaiting the ferry boat. At last the boat came, and we crossed the second ferry of another quarter of a mile to Wheeling.
Here my fellow traveller took leave of me, purposing to go five or six miles further ere night, though it was now five o’clock, and we had already walked upwards of thirty miles since morning.