204 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



from nortli to south. We met this morning the first 

 travellers since we had left Nazareth. They were tak- 

 ing- wheat to Philadelphia in wagons. Hauling is done 

 to better advantage in Pensylvania than in most of the 

 other provinces. During the war Pensylvania alone 

 supplied almost the whole of the American army with 

 wagons and horses ; and in the British army there were 

 many Pensylvania horses and teamsters. The Pen- 

 sylvanians regard size and strength of breed more 

 than beauty, and their wagons are the strongest and 

 best in America ; they cover them with sail-cloth 

 stretched over hoops, and always have four good 

 horses hitched in front. We reached Myerstown at 

 midday, a small village ; a German to whom the land 

 belonged gave it his name. He was shot thirteen 

 years ago in his own house at supper, and the mur- 

 derer has not been found to this day. His son, the 

 present landlord, came to the tavern in a beggarly rig ; 

 he did not know how many houses there were in the 

 place ; ' all I know/ said he, ' is that I have about 600 

 Pds. rent to collect.' The lots * are 50 ft. by 100, and 

 pay 16 shillings Pensylv. ground-rent a year. Keep- 

 ing on over similar roads, limestone hills and dry, thin, 

 monotonous oak woods we came to 



Lebanon, a not inconsiderable country town ; which 

 like Reading is laid off in straight streets ; and con- 

 tains many good houses. And this town also is not 

 over thirty years old. The town-lots are 40 ft. by 60, 

 and pay 6 shillings a year ground-rent. The inhabi- 

 tants are for the most part Germans. There is a 



* The portion of land measured off in a new-settled place 

 for house, yard, and garden. 



