116 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



be tight shortly after the peace, and the Americans, 

 accustomed to deal with England on long credit, were 

 neither able nor inclined to pay cash for cargoes. Prod- 

 uce was not everywhere to be had in such quantity as 

 to make up profitable return cargoes, and prices rose 

 so high with the heavy demand that on returning to 

 Europe it was found that such articles were almost as 

 cheap there as in America. The American merchants 

 (a peace seeming to be pretty certain) had fore- 

 handedly placed their orders in England; but when 

 they found that so many Germans, Hollanders, and 

 French were coming in with goods, they hurriedly and 

 secretly countermanded their orders in England, but 

 at the same time gave the foreigners to understand 

 that they were hourly expecting from England the 

 same sorts of goods as those offered, and for other 

 reasons as well could make no use of their goods. And 

 so these adventuring foreigners were obliged to let 

 their cargoes go under the hammer at any price at all ; 

 the Americans in this way secured the goods below 

 purchase-price and, the English orders being in great 

 part written off, could sell at a great profit. Thus they 

 came by their ends and gained at the cost of inex- 

 perienced foreigners, their very obliging friends. 



Philadelphia is the only sea-port of Pensylvania; 

 therefore the whole trade of the province centres at 

 Philadelphia, with the exception of certain regions be- 

 yond the Susquehannah to which Baltimore lies more 

 convenient. To Philadelphia the countryman brings 

 what he has to sell and there buys what he needs. The 

 products of Pensylvania are in no way peculiar to 

 itself, being the same as those found in the adjacent 

 provinces of Jersey and New York; however, certain 



