Pages That Need Review
W. Kinsey diary, 1817.
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called Flause, & many beautiful farms, & habitations of vine-dressers. The environs of these richly-coated hill are beyond description enchantingly beautiful. Geisenheim on the same side makes a superb appearance with its hilly grounds adorned with gardens, country houses, & vineyards; nor is Rudesheim inferior in Beauty. Here in the centre of the stream we looked back upon our course, & saw the whole line of beautiful Islands, which we had passed, & on the night downwards, black & deep gulph with high-towering rocks above crowned with an ancient Castle, & thro wh: the river forces its passage. One the left the [?] is seen fall- -ing down its waters to Burgen to unite them with the Rhine. Bingen stands at the foot of the Mountain Klopp not far from which rises that St Rock, & to the right Rupertsberg with the ruins of an ancient Convent. The scene before us was closed by the steep rocks hilly near the mouth of the [?], & upon both sides of the Rhine, for - - ming a gulph, which seemed to swallow up the river. Charlemagne having discovered from his palace of Ingelheim, that the snow melted sooner upon [?] of Rüdesheim, than all the others, brought there the grapes from Burgundy, & Orleans, & they are to this day called Plänner, or the grapes of Orleans. On the left bank opposite Rüdesheim is situated Bingen. On the Right the Mt Rüdesheim towers into the clouds, & at the point where the noe winds round the Mts covered with woods, under whose deep shade is the dark gulph of Bingerlock - &
Journal of a tour to the West in 1839: diary, 1839.
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4. of Tuesday 24th. At Hancock, Revd Mr Delaplaine breakfasted with me & the landlord, one of his parishoners Mr. would receive no compensation for my breakfast! We have entered upon the mountains region in earnest & passed our way for about 100 miles through a country wehre "hills o'er hills, & Alps o'er Alps arise." We dined at Ft. [Gritstone?] & supped at Frost [illegible]. Though I have crossed the little & big Savage & other chains of the Alleghanies, the mountain journey never appeared more beautiful then now when received by the clear light of a full moon. On Wednesday at 7 O'clock we arrived in [illegible] & after breakfast, the estage stopped for a few minutes at Mr. Stockton's gate while I went in to
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6. & his mother, visited the glass works, steam boats etc. The process of manufacturing the flint & pewter glass is very interesting, & there Mr. A informs me are the only works in the R. S. now in operation when that kind of glass is manufactured. The Episcopal church in Wheeling is a very chaste Grecian examples - but almost the only building in the place worthy of remark. At Wheeling I was advised to go in the Col Woods Steamerboat , advertised to sail in the course of that day. And here I may mention an illustration of the uncertainty of travelling on the Western waters, that it was well for me I did not, as the Col Woods I'd not reach Louis ville till the day after the consecration.
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8. dozen other passengers had a cot prepared in the cabin. I was reminded of my being in the west by the fact that when my next door neighbor retired to his cot, he very carefully deposited his money & knife together with his long rifle pistol under his pillow. On Thursday night we were obliged to lie still all night on acct of the fog. This common occurrence, together with the frequent stoppings for freight & passengers- & to replenish the stock of wood, makes travelling in the western boarts a [serious?] trial to the patience. On board the [illegible] are very good table[illegible] spread attended by several white
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boys of from 16 to 20 years of 9 age. They are good waiters, & become very much attached to this mode of life, the youngest receives $12 pr month. the dinner table was furnish ed with decanters of brandy & gin after the old fashion of the Eastern boats - & wine upon the part of the table allotted to the Ladies. In this & all the boats there is much card playing by day & night till 10 o'clock - but little gambling as far as I observed. We had a singular vain & officious character on board Col Evans of Cincinnatiwho keeps a splendid clothing & fancy store in that city. He is a great talker - & stutters enough to make his speeches exceedingly ludicrous. We often got (aground) upon
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10 upon said band & the Col was then very officious in giving his orders to the company to mount the hurricane deck & rock her off. On Friday we received on board as passenger a moderate Kenetuckian who must be related I think to the Kentucky giant- being about 6 feet five inches & larvge in proportions; I should think he would weigh 350 lbs. He had a club inscriebd with his name, about three inches in diameter it [illegible] do no [illegible] it to [illegible]. Soon asfter he was comfortable seated by the fire, the boat got aground & Col Evans rush to that part of the cabin, stammered out the exclamation "come Sampson, we want you to lift off the Boat"!
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12 and emigrants (mostly Germans) are accomodated, & are never allowed to come on the upper deck which is exclusively for the accomodation of gentlemen + ladies. I have however known a Yankee family of emigrants stowed away with their cooking utensils & common lied - stowed away in front of the gentlemen's cabin at the bow of the boat. In passing down the rains we passed Marietta & Newport Ohio, [Patleesburg?], [Gwyandott?] &c in Virginia. And I engaged with much interest upon Blennerhassett's Island, that beautiful spot-which the guides if West has adorned with so much rent & ideal beauty- I consecrated in romance as one of the
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most important localities 13 in our wetern world. In his speech upon the trial of Aaron Burr I cod easily fancy it to have been like a Paradise before the porter came but I have nothing of the thrubbery [illegible] headstone might have exclaimed! But was told that all the beautiful edifices which once adorned it had gallen into ruins & that nothing remained of its horticultural riches but a few old apple trees! Many of the river towns are handsome, & flourishing, they all having sloping banks upon the river shore, paired with stones in which are fastened iron rings at different eights, for the scarcity of boats. The longest & most interesting towns between
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14 between Wheeling & Cincinnati are Portsmonth on Ohio & Maysville Ky. [Kentucky] The former is at the mouth of the great canal which runs throu: the centre of the state to Cleveland connecting the watrers of Lake Erie with those of the Ohio. The latter is the starting point of the Macadamized road of great excellence leading thro: a most rich & beautiful country to Lexington. It is a pretty town of 5 or 6,000 inhabitants, I should think. & Opposite to it, is Aberdeen, Ohio. At Maysville, Miss Harper an interesting young lady-daughter of the late cashier of the Bank in Lexington, parted from usby her, I sent my lone to B/ Smith informing him that I was thus far on my way & would