LETTERXV.
Description of Virginia between Richmond and the Mountains.—Fragrance of Flowers and Shrubs in the Woods.—Melody of the Birds.—Of the Birds of Virginia.—Mocking Bird.—Blue Bird.—Red Bird, &c.—Singular Noises of the Frogs.—Columbia.—Magazine there.—Fire Flies in the Woods.—Green Springs.—Wretchedness of the Accommodation there.—Difficulty of finding the Way through the Woods.—Serpents.—Rattle-Snake.—Copper-Snake.—Black Snake.—South-west, or Green Mountains.—Soil of them.—Mountain Torrents do great Damage.—Salubrity of the Climate.—Great Beauty of the Peasantry.—Many Gentlemen of Property living here.—Monticello, the Seat of Mr. Jefferson.—Vineyards.—Observations on the Culture of the Grape, and the Manufacture of Wine.
Monticello, May.
HAVING staid at Richmond somewhat longer than a week, which I found absolutely necessary, if it had only been to recruit the strength of my horses, that had been half starved in coming from Norfolk, I proceeded in a north-westerly direction towards the South-west or Green Mountains.
VIRGINIAN BIRDS.
The country about Richmond is sandy, but not so much so, nor as flat as on the south side of James River towards the sea. It now wore a most pleasing aspect. The first week in May had arrived; the trees had obtained a considerable part of their foliage, and the air in the woods was perfumed with the fragrant smell of numberless flowers and flowering shrubs, which sprang up on all sides. The music of the birds was also delightful. It is thought that in Virginia the singing birds are finer than what are to be met with on any other part of the continent, as the climate is more congenial to them, being neither so intensely hot in summer as that of the Carolinas, nor so cold in winter as that of the more northern states. The notes of the mocking bird or Virginian nightingale are in particular most melodious.This bird is of the colour and about the size of a thrush, but more slender; it imitates the song of every other bird, but with increased strength and sweetness. The bird whose song it mocks generally flies away, as if conscious of being excelled by the other, and dissatisfied with its own powers. It is a remark, however, made by Catesby, and which appears to be a very just one, that the birds in America are much inferior to those in Europe in the melody of their notes, but that they are superior in point of plumage. I know of no American bird that has the rich mellow note of our black-bird, the sprightly note of the skylark, or the sweet and plaintive one of the nightingale.
After having listened to the mocking bird, there is no novelty in hearing the song of any other bird in the country; and indeed their songs are for the most part but very simple in themselves, though combined they are pleasing.
The most remarkable for their plumage of those commonly met with are, the blue bird and the red bird. The first is about the size of a linnet; its back, head, and wings are of dark yet bright blue; when flying the plumage appears to the greatest advantage. The red bird is larger than a sky lark, though smaller than a thrush; it is of a vermilion colour, andhas a small tuft on its head. A few humming birds make their appearance in summer, but their plumage is not so beautiful as those found more to the southward.
COLUMBIA.
Of the other common birds there are but few worth notice. Doves and quails, or partridges as they are sometimes called, afford good diversion for the sportsman. These last birds in their habits are exactly similar to European partridges, excepting that they alight sometimes upon trees; their size is that of the quail, but they are neither the same as the English quail or the English partridge. It is the same with many other birds, as jays, robins, larks, pheasants, &c. which were called by the English settlers after the birds of the same name in England, because they bore some resemblance to them, though in fact they are materially different. In the lower parts of Virginia, and to the southward, are great numbers of large birds, called turkey buzzards, which, when mounted aloft on the wing, look like eagles. In Carolina there is a law prohibiting the killing of these birds, as they feed upon putrid carcases, and therefore contribute to keep the air wholesome. There is only one bird more which I shall mention, the whipperwill, or whip-poor-will, as it is sometimes called, from the plaintive noise that it makes; to my ear it sounded wȳp-ŏ-īl. It begins tomake this noise, which is heard a great way off, about dusk, and continues it through the greater part of the night. This bird is so very wary, and so few instances have occurred of its being seen, much less taken, that many have imagined the noise does not proceed from a bird, but from a frog, especially as it is heard most frequently in the neighbourhood of low grounds.
The frogs in America, it must here be observed, make a most singular noise, some of them absolutely whistling, whilst others croak so loudly, that it is difficult at times to tell whether the sound proceeds from a calf or a frog: I have more than once been deceived by the noise when walking in a meadow. These last frogs are called bull frogs; they mostly keep in pairs, and are never found but where there is good water; their bodies are from four to seven inches long, and their legs are in proportion; they are extremely active, and take prodigious leaps.
The first town I reached on going towards the mountains was Columbia, or Point of Fork, as it is called in the neighbourhood. It is situated about sixty miles above Richmond, at the confluence of Rivanna and Fluvanna rivers, which united form James River. This is a flourishing little place, containing about forty houses, and a warehouse for the inspection oftobacco. On the neck of land between the two rivers, just opposite to the town, is the magazine of the state, in which are kept twelve thousand stand of arms, and about thirty tons of powder. The low lands bordering upon the river in this neighbourhood are extremely valuable.
From Columbia to the Green Springs, about twenty miles farther on, the road runs almost wholly through a pine forest, and is very lonely. Night came on before I got to the end of it, and, as very commonly happens with travellers in this part of the world, I soon lost my way. A light, however, seen through the trees, seemed to indicate that a house was not far off; my servant eagerly rode up to it, but the poor fellow’s consternation was great indeed when he observed it moving from him, presently coming back, and then with swiftness departing again into the woods. I was at a loss for a time myself to account for the appearance, but after proceeding a little farther, I observed the same sort of light in many other places, and dismounting from my horse to examine a bush where one of these sparks appeared to have fallen, I found it proceeded from the fire fly. As the summer came on, these flies appeared every night: after a light shower in the afternoon, I have seen the woods sparkling with them in every quarter. Thelight is emitted from the tail, and the animal has the power of emitting it or not at pleasure.
GREEN SPRINGS.
After wandering about till it was near eleven o’clock, a plantation at last appeared, and having got fresh information respecting the road from the negroes in the quarter, who generally sit up half the night, and over a fire in all seasons, I again set out for the Green Springs. With some difficulty I at last found the way, and arrived there about midnight. The hour was so unseasonable, that the people at the tavern were very unwilling to open their doors; and it was not till I had related the history of my adventures from the last stage two or three times that they could be prevailed upon to let me in. At last a tall fellow in his shirt came grumbling to the door, and told me I might come in if I would. I had now a parley for another quarter of an hour to persuade him to give me some corn for my horses, which he was very unwilling to do; but at last he complied, though much against his inclination, and unlocked the stable door. Returning to the house, I was shewn into a room about ten feet square, in which were two filthy beds swarming with bugs; the ceiling had mouldered away, and the walls admitted light in various places; it was a happy circumstance, however, that these apertures were in the wall,for the window of the apartment was insufficient in itself to admit either light or fresh air. Here I would fain have got something to eat, if possible, but not even so much as a piece of bread was to be had; indeed, in this part of the country they seldom think of keeping bread ready made, but just prepare sufficient for the meal about half an hour before it is wanted, and then serve it hot. Unable therefore to procure any food, and fatigued with a long journey during a parching day, I threw myself down on one of the beds in my clothes, and enjoyed a profound repose, notwithstanding the repeated onsets of the bugs and other vermin with which I was molested.
Besides the tavern and the quarters of the slaves, there is but one more building at this place. This is a large farm house, where people that resort to the springs are accommodated with lodgings, about as good as those at the tavern. These habitations stand in the center of a cleared spot of land of about fifty acres, surrounded entirely with wood. The springs are just on the margin of the wood, at the bottom of a slope, which begins at the houses, and are covered with a few boards, merely to keep the leaves from falling in. The waters are chalybeate, and are drank chiefly by persons from the low country, whose constitutionshave been relaxed by the heats of summer.
SNAKES.
MOUNTAINS.
Having breakfasted in the morning at this miserable little place, I proceeded on my journey up the South-west Mountain. In the course of this day’s ride I observed a great number of snakes, which were now beginning to come forth from their holes. I killed a black one, that I found sleeping, stretched across the road; it was five feet in length. The black snake is more commonly met with than any other in this part of America, and is usually from four to six feet in length. In proportion to the length it is extremely slender; the back is perfectly black, the belly lead colour, inclining to white towards the throat. The bite of this snake is not poisonous, and the people in that country are not generally inclined to kill it, from its great utility in destroying rats and mice. It is wonderfully fond of milk, and is frequently found in the dairies, which in Virginia are for the most part in low situations, like cellars, as the milk could not otherwise be kept sweet for two hours together in summer time. The black snake, at the time of copulation, immediately pursues any person who comes in sight, and with such swiftness, that the best runner cannot escape from him upon even ground. Many other sorts of harmless snakes are found here, some of which arebeautifully variegated, as the garter, the ribbon, the blueish green snake, &c. &c. Of the venomous kind, the most common are the rattle snake, and the copper or moccassin snake. The former is found chiefly on the mountains; but although frequently met with, it is very rarely that people are bitten by it; scarcely a summer, however, passes over without several being bit by the copper snake. The poison of the latter is not so subtile as that of the rattle snake, but it is very injurious, and if not attended to in time, death will certainly ensue. The rattle snake is very dull, and never attacks a person that does not molest him; but, at the same time, he will not turn out of the way to avoid any one; before he bites, he always gives notice by shaking his rattles, so that a person that hears them can readily get out of his way. The copper snake, on the contrary, is more active and treacherous, and, it is said, will absolutely put himself in the way of a person to bite him. Snakes are neither so numerous nor so venomous in the northern as in the southern states. Horses, cows, dogs, and fowl seem to have an innate sense of the danger they are exposed to from these poisonous reptiles, and will shew evident symptoms of fear on approaching near them, although they are dead; but what is remarkable, hogs, so far from being afraid of them, pursue and devourthem with the greatest avidity, totally regardless of their bites. It is supposed that the great quantity of fat, with which they are furnished, prevents the poison from operating on their bodies as on those of other animals. Hog’s lard, it might therefore reasonably be conjectured, would be a good remedy for the bite of a snake: however, I never heard cf its being tried; the people generally apply herbs to the wound, the specific qualities of which are well known. It is a remarkable instance of the bounty of providence, that in all those parts of the country where these venomous reptiles abound, those herbs which are the most certain antidote to the poison are found in the greatest plenty.
The South-west Mountains run nearly parallel to the Blue Ridge, and are the first which you come to on going up the country from the sea coast in Virginia. These mountains are not lofty, and ought indeed rather to be called hills than mountains; they are not seen till you come within a very few miles of them, and the ascent is so gradual, that you get upon their top almost without perceiving it.
The soil here changes to a deep argilaceous earth, particularly well suited to the culture of small grain and clover, and produces abundant crops. As this earth, however, doesnot absorb the water very quickly, the farmer is exposed to great losses from heavy falls of rain; the seed is liable to be washed out of the ground, so that sometimes it is found necessary to sow a field two or three different times before it becomes green; and if great care be not taken to guard such fields as lie on a declivity by proper trenches, the crops are sometimes entirely destroyed, even after they arrive at maturity; indeed, very often, notwithstanding the utmost precautions, the water departs from its usual channel, and sweeps away all before it. After heavy torrents of rain I have frequently seen all the negroes in a farm dispatched with hoes and spades to different fields, to be ready to turn the course of the water, in case it should take an improper direction. On the sides of the mountain, where the ground has been worn out with the culture of tobacco, and left waste, and the water has been suffered to run in the same channel for a length of time, it is surprising to see the depth of the ravines or gullies, as they are called, which it has formed. They are just like so many precipices, and are insurmountable barriers to the passage from one side of the mountain to the other.
CLIMATE.
Notwithstanding such disadvantages, however, the country in the neighbourhood of these mountains is far more populous thanthat which lies towards Richmond; and there are many persons that even consider it to be the garden of the United States. All the productions of the lower part of Virginia may be had here, at the same time that the heat is never found to be so oppressive; for in the hottest months in the year there is a freshness and elasticity in the air unknown in the low country. The extremes of heat and cold are found to be 90° and 6° above cipher, but it is not often that the thermometer rises above 84°, and the winters are so mild in general, that it is a very rare circumstance for the snow to lie for three days together upon the ground.
The salubrity of the climate is equal also to that of any part of the United States; and the inhabitants have in consequence a healthy ruddy appearance. The female part of the peasantry in particular is totally different from that in the low country. Instead of the pale, sickly, debilitated beings, whom you meet with there, you find amongst these mountains many a one that would be a fit subject to be painted for a Lavinia. It is really delightful to behold the groups of females, assembled here, at times, to gather the cherries and other fruits which grow in the greatest abundance in the neighbourhood of almost every habitation. Their shapes and complexionsare charming; and the carelessness of their dresses, which consist of little more, in common, than a simple bodice and petticoat, makes them appear even still more engaging.
The common people in this neighbourhood appeared to me to be of a more frank and open disposition, more inclined to hospitality, and to live more contentedly on what they possessed, than the people of the same class in any other part of the United States I passed through. From being able, however, to procure the necessaries of life upon very easy terms, they are rather of an indolent habit, and inclined to dissipation. Intoxication is very prevalent, and it is scarcely possible to meet with a man who does not begin the day with taking one, two, or more drams as soon as he rises. Brandy is the liquor which they principally use, and having the greatest abundance of peaches, they make it at a very trifling expence. There is hardly a house to be found with two rooms in it, but where the inhabitants have a still. The females do not fall into the habit of intoxication like the men, but in other respects they are equally disposed to pleasure, and their morals are in like manner relaxed.
MONTICELLO.
Along these mountains live several gentlemen of large landed property, who farm their own estates, as in the lower parts of Virginia;among the number is Mr. Jefferson[23], from whose seat I date this letter. His house is about three miles distant from Charlottesville and two from Milton, which is on the head waters of Rivanna River. It is most singularly situated, being built upon the top of a small mountain, the apex of which has been cut off, so as to leave an area of about an acre and half. At present it is in an unfinished state; but if carried on according to the plan laid down, it will be one of the most elegant private habitations in the United States. A large apartment is laid out for a library and museum, meant to extend the entire breadth of the house, the windows of which are to open into an extensive green house and aviary. In the center is another very spacious apartment, of an octagon form, reaching from the front to the rear of the house, the large folding glass doors of which, at each end, open under a portico. An apartment like this, extending from front to back, is very common in a Virginian house; it is called the saloon, and during summer is the one generally preferred by the family, on account of its being more airy and spacious than any other. The house commands a magnificent prospect on one side of the blue ridge of mountains for nearly forty miles, and on the
23.Vice-president of the United States.
23.Vice-president of the United States.
23.Vice-president of the United States.
opposite one, of the low country, in appearance like an extended heath covered with trees, the tops alone of which are visible. The mists and vapours arising from the low grounds give a continual variety to the scene. The mountain whereon the house stands is thickly wooded on one side, and walks are carried round it, with different degrees of obliquity, running into each other. On the south side is the garden and a large vineyard, that produces abundance of fine fruit.
VINES.
Several attempts have been made in this neighbourhood to bring the manufacture of wine to perfection; none of them however have succeeded to the wish of the parties. A set of gentlemen once went to the expence even of getting six Italians over for the purpose, but the vines which the Italians found growing here were different, as well as the soil, from what they had been in the habit of cultivating, and they were not much more successful in the business than the people of the country. We must not, however, from hence conclude that good wine can never be manufactured upon these mountains. It is well known that the vines, and the mode of cultivating them, vary as much in different parts of Europe as the soil in one country differs from that in another. It will require some time, therefore, and different experiments, to ascertain the particularkind of vine, and the mode of cultivating it, best adapted to the soil of these mountains. This, however, having been once ascertained, there is every reason to suppose that the grape may be cultivated to the greatest perfection, as the climate is as favourable for the purpose as that of any country in Europe. By experiments also it is by no means improbable, that they will in process of time learn the best method of converting the juice of the fruit into wine.