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settlement still further west, to which the white inhabitants had not yet been attracted. I have no doubt that they will soon be round him there; but a frontier position had certainly be better left entirely to the Americans, and avoided by Englishmen. I do not wonder at some of his countrymen, in his own words, "wanting faith, thinking they "should never reach an abode so far west." According to the distance given it appears to be From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh,. From Pittsburgh, down the Ohio, to Shawanoe town, From Shawanoe town to Birkbeck's Settlement,

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320 miles.

1,200

50

1,570 miles.

The extensive settlement of Englishmen, in his neighbourhood, which Mr. B. at first contemplated, appears to be given up; as he has not been able to procure the land, according to his original wishes. He observes, "I am therefore going on steadily "with my own settlement, without reference to "that plan." That large plan thought of by Mr. B. alone, so far off as Illinois, will, I trust, be carried into effect by the British Emigrant Society here ; in a country much more congenial to a British constitution.

These letters seem to have been principally written at Princeton, in the state of Indiana; where, it is probable, Mr. B. was obliged to reside until he

could have some accommodations made at his settlement in Illinois; from which it appears, by the map, to be about twenty-five or thirty miles distant. If the state of society, and the inconvenience of travelling, are to be taken from Mr. B.'s account, they are, to say the least, quite as bad as what may be gathered from other travellers. The following are his words:

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"In the early state of society, where the country “is savage, and many of the people just emerging "from that condition, much intrepidity of mind, "and hardihood of body, are indispensable requi"sites in the administration of justice. Brass for "the face wont suffice; there must be steel from "head to foot. Your military, or fox hunting expe"rience, has, I dare say, furnished adventures "similar to those which are constantly occurring "here to the gentlemen of the long robe, on their progress from court to court. The judge and the "bar, are now working their way to the next coun"ty seat, through trackless woods, over snow and "ice, with the thermometer about Zero. In last "November circuit, the judge swam his horse, I "think, seven times in one day; and how often in "the whole circuit, is not on record. What would/ our English lawyers say to seven such ablutions "in one November day? and then to dry their "clothes on their back, by turning round and round "before a blazing fire, preparatory to a night's "lodging on a cabin floor, wrapped in their blan

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"kets; which, by the by, are the only robes used "by the profession here."

Why, I believe, the English lawyers would not be surprised, in such a situation, to be told (page 69) of an enraged barrister, with a hand-whip or cowhide, cutting to ribbons the jacket of the foreman of the grand jury; or of a judge shooting a notorious offender, while on horseback in the street, with a pistol ball through the body.

I have alluded to the turbulent character, given by travellers, of some of the western settlers. This character, however, cannot be considered a general one; and it would be very unjust to give it that application; doubtless, there must be many estimable characters there, and we should be aware, that the deformity of moral evil, like the depth of shade in a picture, is calculated to make a first and powerful impression. This impression is not lessened by the letters in question; and when we are told that, "the decision of character, which prevails among "the new settlers, renders their society very interesting, and there is a spirit of fearless enterprise, "that raises even the vicious above contempt; not ♦ a family, scarce an individual, whose adventures "would not highly amuse and astonish the groups "assembled round the fire-side of our old country."

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We see the anxiety and dangers, which are necessarily connected with advanced settlements, exposed to savage inroads; and which it may be much pleasanter to hear recounted, by the fire-side,

than to participate in. And it is unfortunate, that even when the situation of affairs change, the character acquired by Indian warfare and intercourse, is too apt to continue. The state of those persons who live in such a condition, much resembles that of the ancient borderers between England and Scotland; and many an American frontier settler not only resembles Watt Tinlinn in appearance,

Who was of stature passing tall,

But sparely formed, and lean withal:

But after an Indian inroad, might exclaim with him,

66 They crossed at the curfew hour,
And burned my little lonely tower;
The fiend receive their souls there for!
It had not been burned this year and more.
Barn yard and dwelling, blazing bright,
Served to light me in my flight;

But I was chased the live long night."

Walter Scott would experience no want of "Stark "moss troopers" there.

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Mr. B. says, "There is nothing I anticipate with "so much satisfaction and security, as the rapid development of society in our new country. Its "elements are rude, certainly, and heterogeneous. "The first settlers, unprotected and unassisted, amid dangers and difficulties, have been accustomed, "from early youth, to rely on their own powers; M

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66

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"and they surrender with reluctance, and only by "halves, their right of defence against every aggression, even to the laws, which they themselves "have constituted. They have been anxiously stu"dious of mildness in the forming of these laws; "and when in practice they seem inefficient, they "too frequently proceed, with Indian perseverance, to acts of vengeance, inconsistent with the duty, or forbearance, essential to social man. Hence, deeds of savage, and even ferocious vio"lence are too common to be viewed with the abhorrence due to them. This disposition is evinced continually, and acted on without any feeling of "private or personal animosity. If a man, whom "the public voice has proclaimed a thief, or a swindler, escape from justice, for want of legal "proof of his guilt, though the law and a jury of his "fellow citizens have acquitted him, ten to one "but he is met with before he can quit the neigh"bourhood, and, tied up to a sapling, receives a scourging, that marks him for the rest of his "life."

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66

Such a state of society needs no comment. An Englishman, accustomed to the administration of the laws, will suspect that Mr. B. has a mind to deter, instead of invite, his countrymen to adventure "so far west," to a country, where, when a prejudice is raised against one, it is not uncommon for a riotous assemblage to become judges and executioners, and scourge, so as to mark for the rest of

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