| Title: | Robert Peel Dawson, Montreal to his parents. |
|---|---|
| ID | 2110 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Peel Dawson, Robert/133 |
| Year | 1839 |
| Sender | Peel Dawson, Robert |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | army officer |
| Sender Religion | Protestant |
| Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Destination | Ireland |
| Recipient | |
| Recipient Gender | male-female |
| Relationship | son-parents |
| Source | T 850/1: Obtained from Mrs Brackenbury, Moyola Park, Castledawson, Co. Londonderry. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 8950017 |
| Date | 12/10/1839 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by JM 25:10:1993. |
| Word Count | 1094 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Montreal Octr [October?] 12th, 1839 Rue Notre Dame. My dearest Parents, My last letter from Philadelphia written on the fifth of September will have informed you of my having entered on a second Tour through the United States. I am just returned to Montreal in perfect health, having concluded a delightful journey & received impressions of the ever varying beauties of America & its noble rivers which I shall never forget. I left Montreal on the 26th of August, remained one day at Saratoga and Catskill Mountains, five at New York and left Philadelphia for Pittsburg on the 7th of September. We travelled on a railroad on the banks of the Susquehanna and through a most delightful valley by which it is watered. On that evening after passing Harrisburg and Chamberslang we exchanged the cars for stages (alas a sorry change) and began the ascent of the Alleghanies, the noblest chain of Mountains in this Continent, and which divides the Eastern from the Western States. The State of Pennyslvania boasts here a most rich and valuable country, and the magnificent view from the summit of the Alleghanies comprises one of the most varied and richly productive scenes that can possibly be imagined. The highest of this range is 6,176 feet from the level of the sea. The point we crossed varied from two to three thousand feet. The view from thence is considered the finest in America. We were one day on the Railroad and two days and two nights in Stage Coaches, so you may guess that we were tolerably tired when we arrived at Pittsburg. My Companions were Rous of my own Regiment & Major Deedes of the 34th, who was Aide de Camp to Sir Peregrine Maitland for some time. I found them most agreeable and I think three a better number to travel together than two. Pittsburg is a dirty smoky City and properly called the Birmingham of the Union. It is situated on two considerable rivers which together take the name of Ohio, & is a place of considerable mercantile importance. We lost no time in taking our places in a Steamboat bound for Cincinnati, and then for the first time I found myself on board one of the High Pressure Machinery. The muddiness of the Mississippi & Missouri waters into which the Ohio flows prevents the Low Pressure from being either safe or useful. The noise proceeding from the funnel I found very disagreeable and resembling the panting and blowing of a broken winded Horse. They are considered so unsafe however that no Insurance Office will transact business with those who reside in the West & who are likely to come in contact with these Steamers. I however, travelled 2,500 miles in one of them without accident, but I greatly prefer the low pressure machinery. The Ohio had been for weeks so low that our progress was necessarily tardy, and numbers of shallow places and sand banks stretching across the River on which we frequently grounded, added greatly to the ennui of our journey. Two banks are high and picturesque though monotonous. The French, who originally settled on it, called it "La Belle Riviere" and certainly with some justice. The steamer runs about ten miles an hour and its course is very winding. This River divides the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois (all free) from the Slave States of Virginia and Kentucky. We arrived on the morning of the 14th of September at Cincinnati, the Metropolis of the West, in the State of #PAGE 2 Ohio. This City, which is extremely rapidly, and improving daily, occupies a site which thirty years ago was a large forest "Nullo Violata securi". The State of Ohio now possesses two millions of inhabitants. Forty years ago the Red Indians were the only tenants of the woods. Now, Cities, Canals, Railroads & all the civilised features of prosperity & cultivation present themselves everywhere. Cincinnati has made a most rapid advance in importance, wealth & commerce and at the last census its population exceeded forty thousand. We remained in this City till the 16th of September & then continued our journey down the Ohio as far as Louisville, the chief town in Kentucky, about 130 miles distant. Louisville is of ancient date and is very flourishing. During our stay here we went some miles into the interior of Kentucky to see a large Slave-holder, his plantations and habits. We examined all the houses appropriated to the slaves & enquired into every circumstances connected with their condition. They were healthy, well taken care of & moderately worked. But alas, all instruction is denied to the Negroes & religion is tacitly forbidden. My opinion is that they are mentally ill-used, but not bodily. Emancipation would be attended by consequences the most frightful in the present state of things. The most revolting study and one which more than I can describe disgusts me with human tyranny is the contemplation of the Negro population in the United States. Where is their vaunted liberality, their equality, their defined rights common to Man? In answer to their boasts, I have never failed to remind them of their unnatural oppression of the Negroes, their traffic in human flesh so contrary to the laws of the God & the practice of the civilized World. From Louisville we went to the junction of the Rivers Mississippi & Ohio. We had now gone the whole length of the Ohio, 965 miles. The waters of the Mississippi are of a muddy colour and the stream very Violent. The heat is here intense, the distance from New Orleans, one thousand miles, but the journey may be performed in four days, owing to the assistance afforded by the stream. St. Louis was the next place we visited. It is a civilized town. We spent a week in the Prairies & had most excellent shooting. I killed several Pelicans, besides quantities of wild fowl. On lake Huron on our return we encountered very tempestuous weather. One man on board our steamer died from seasickness. The Falls of Niagara again astonished & charmed us. We had heavenly weather during our Tour and on the 8th of October we reached Montreal & again stood under the protecting Flag of England, having been absent six weeks & three days. Distances we travelled:- Montreal to New York by Saratoga and Catskill Mts. 420 miles New York to Philadelphia 87 miles To Pittsburg - 385 miles To St. Louis 1,300 miles To Chigago 318 miles To Detroit 711 miles To Niagara 340 miles To Montreal 450 miles Total of miles 4,011 |
