The river Ohio, on which Cincinnati is situated, is exactly 1000 miles from the bridge at Pittsburg to its junction with the Mississippi, though not above 600 in a direct line. It rises during the spring months from 30 to 60 feet. The French, when they first discovered it, called it "La Belle Riviere," which, like the Indian name "Ohio," means the beautiful river. Its general or average breadth is little more than half a-mile. In some places it is only 500 yards wide, but its breadth at no place exceeds 1200 yards, and at its junction with the Mississippi neither river is more than 1000 yards wide. It commences at Pittsburg, where the two rivers, the Alleghany and Monongahela, join together, and by their union form the Ohio. The annual inundations generally commence in March, and subside in May.

Coal from Pittsburg is generally sold at Cincinnati for about sixpence sterling the bushel of 80 lbs.

The word "Mississippi" is said to denote the whole river, or the river formed by the union of many; and its original Indian name, "Mes-cha-ce-be," signifies the "Father of Waters."

But the great route now is from Buffalo to Detroit, in the State of Michigan (containing 30,000 inhabitants) and from thence to Chicago, in the State of Illinois, and Milwaukie, in the State of Wisconsin. You get by steamer from Buffalo to Detroit (285 miles) in 17 hours without landing, and from Detroit you are carried along the Michigan Central Railroad to New Buffalo in 11 hours, a distance of 218 miles, and at New Buffalo a steamer takes you across Lake Michigan to Chicago in 4 hours, reaching Chicago in 34 hours from Buffalo, and Milwaukie (90 miles from Chicago) in 44 hours.

The distance from Buffalo to Chicago by this route is 518 miles. The population of Chicago is now 45,000,

and of Milwaukie 35,000, and both towns are in the most flourishing condition. Six daily newspapers are now published at Milwaukie,-two of them in German; and as a proof of its wonderful progress, 1 may mention that in the year 1834 Solomon Juncau was the only white inhabitant. In 1850, out of a cargo of 150 Norwegian emigrants embarked at Buffalo for Milwaukie, 54 died on the passage and were thrown overboard. They were victims of ship-fever, contracted during a voyage of 3 months from Europe.

The Chicago Tribune gives the following

NEW RECIPE FOR MAKing Bread.

Take three pounds of flour, mix with three tea-spoonsful of soda, passing the whole through a sieve, in order that the soda may be well mixed with the flour, add one quart of water and a table-spoonful of muriatic acid in the liquid form, pour the mixture in the flour, and mix the whole just enough to get the ingredients fairly incorporated together. Wet the hand in cold water and mould into shape, and clap it at once into the oven. During the cooking of any meal, with five minutes labor, you can have excellent bread. The soda and acids constitute the elements of common salt, and they not only raise the bread by combination, but salt it to the bargain. Try the experiment, ladies.

Those however who prefer going by steamboats the whole route, can proceed by way of Lakes Erie, St Clair, Huron, and Michigan; the whole distance from Buffalo to Chicago by this route being 1056 miles. Many people in summer go by the lakes, as they only take four days. to perform the whole distance from Buffalo to Chicago, and charge only eight dollars as the cabin fare, including three admirable meals every day, which is about the same as you would pay if living in an hotel, being thus actually carried upwards of a thousand miles for nothing. Oh what a country!

One day during my residence at Buffalo I stepped into a tobacconist's shop in order to smoke a cigar, and remained

about half-an-hour. A German who spoke tolerably good English, happened to be conversing at the time, or rather disputing with the shopkeeper about the settlement of an account. The volley of oaths which the latter poured forth during this altercation surpassed any thing I had ever heard before. I am sorry to say that this practice is too common among the citizens of the great Republic. They seem to forget that it is no mark of a gentleman to swear. The most worthless and vile-the refuse of mankind the drunkard and the prostitute-swear as well as the best dressed and educated gentleman. No particular endowments are requisite to give a finish to the art of cursing. The basest and meanest of mankind swear with as much tact and skill as the most refined; and he that wishes to degrade himself to the very lowest level of pollution and shame should learn to be a common swearer. Any man has talents enough to learn to curse God, and imprecate perdition on themselves and their fellow-men. Profane swearing never did any man any good. No man is the richer, or wiser, or happier for it. It helps no one's education or manners. It commends no one to any society. It is disgusting to the refined, abominable to the good, insulting to those with whom we associate, degrading to the mind, unprofitable, needless, and injurious to society; and, wantonly to profane His name, to call His vengeance down, to curse Him, and to invoke His vengeance, is, perhaps, of all offences the most awful in the sight of God.

How can a common swearer join in the song to the Great Creator of the universe.

Sun, moon, and stars convey thy praise

Round the whole earth, and never stand;

So when thy truth began its race,

It touch'd and glanc'd on ev'ry land.

CHAPTER XVI.

Journey from Buffalo to Albany-Rochester-Genesee Flour-GenevaWaterloo-Auburn-State Prison there-Syracuse-Rome-Utica and Schenectady-Description of Utica-A Baptism in the River Mohawk -Saratoga Springs-Scene of General Burgoyne's Exploits and Surrender-Death of General Fraser-Description of American Railways.

On leaving Buffalo I proceeded to Albany, a distance of 326 miles by the railway. I went in what are called the "Emigrant Cars," which go once a day, and are chiefly intended for emigrants, as the fare is only about the one-half of the other trains, or five dollars the whole way to Albany. An express train runs once a-day from Buffalo to Albany in 13 hours. On our route we passed through the towns of Rochester, Geneva, Waterloo, Auburn, Syracuse, Rome, Utica, and Schenectady. Rochester, situated 74 miles from Buffalo, and 7 miles south from Lake Ontario, is a thriving place, containing 50,000 inhabitants, though in 1812 it consisted of but one single log hut. It owes its rapid growth to the vast waterpower created by the three falls in Genesee river, which runs through it, and amount to 268 feet within the bounds of the city, besides rapids. On these rapids and falls there are about thirty of the largest flouring-mills in the world, grinding 15,000 bushels of wheat daily; and hence the price of Genesee flour and wheat is now invariably

quoted in all the markets of the United States, as well as in this country. There are also cotton and paper-mills, and carpet manufactories.

The county of Genesee in which Rochester is situate, is by far the most fertile county in the State of New York. I did not stop to examine the large state prison, containing 1000 prisoners, when passing through Auburn, (152 miles from Buffalo,) having seen the same system in operation at Kingston in Upper Canada, as formerly mentioned. A detailed account of this prison, occupying no less than twenty pages in print, has been given by my lamented friend, the late James Stuart, Esq., in his celebrated travels in North America. I shall merely remark en passant, that the system pursued may be called the "silent system;" the essence of this system consisting in solitary confinement in separate cells when not at work, also at night and on Sundays, and in constant but absolutely silent labour, in company, in large well-ventilated work-shops, and under strict superintendence. It is distinguished from that of Philadelphia by the additional rigour of solitary labour which is adopted in the latter. The work performed by the prisoners almost pays the whole expense of the prisons in America, owing to the higher price of labour, and the higher price for the goods than can be obtained in Europe. In the penitentiary at Philadelphia the prisoners live and work in solitary confinement, are unseen by each other, and unknown, except by their numbers, even to the keepers.

Exclusive solitary confinement without labor* was abolished at Auburn in 1823, as it produced insanity, and none had been found so stubborn as to hold out against this awful punishment. When La Fayette revisited the

*

I have occasionally throughout this work adopted the American plan of spelling, throwing the letter "u" out of such words as labor, honor, favor, color, &c.