OCR Text |
Show AUTHOR'S PREFACE. Immense additions have been made of late years to our knowledge of the extensive continent of North America. A large portion of that country, which, only a few years ago, was covered with almost uninterrupted primeval forests, and a scanty, scattered population of rude barbarians, has been converted, by the influx of emigrants from the Old World, into a rich and flourishing State, for the most part civilized, and almost as well known and cultivated as Europe itself. Large and flourishing towns, with fine public institutions of every kind, have risen rapidly, and every year adds to their number. Animated commerce, unfettered, unlimited industry, have caused this astonishing advance of civilization in the United States. The tide of emigration is impelled onwards, wave upon wave, and it is only the sterility of the North-west that can check the advancing torrent. We already possess numerous accounts of these daily-increasing States, and there are many good statistical works on the subject. We have even excellent general works on the physical state of this continent, among which Volney's " Tableau du Climat et du Sol des Etats Unis/' holds a high rank. Little, however, has yet been done towards a clear and vivid description of the natural scenery of North America: the works of American writers themselves on this subject^ with the exception of Cooper's and Washington Irving's animated descriptions, cannot be taken into account, as, in writing for their countrymen, they take it for granted that their readers are well acquainted with the country. For this reason I have endeavoured, in the following work, to supply this deficiency to the best of my ability, and have aimed rather at giving a clear and faithful description of the country, than at collecting statistical information. Hence these travels are designed for foreign, rather than for American readers, to whom, probably, but few of the details would be new. There are two distinct points of view in which that remarkable country may be considered. Some travellers are interested by the rude, primitive character of the natural face of North America, and its aboriginal population, the traces of which are now scarcely discernible in most parts of the United States ; while the majority are more inclined to contemplate the immigrant population, and the gigantic strides of civilization introduced by it. The account of my tour through a part of these countries, contained in the following pages, is chiefly intended for readers of the first class. I have avoided the repetition of numerous statements which may be found in various statistical publications; but, on the contrary, have aimed at a simple description of nature. As the United States were merely the basis of my more extensive undertaking, the object of which b |