IS 07.'] Ohsei^oatmts made during a Tour in the United States. 549 



and the Ohio was once covered with 

 water: wlietlier it has become dry land 

 by tiie breaking down of the barrier 

 which the rocks of Niagara probably 

 once formed againit tlie palVa;j,e of tlie 

 weftcra waters into the fea, before the 

 formation of the River St. Lsuvrence, it 

 is not for me to determine ; but the ni*« 

 ture of the foil ilrongly indicates the 

 <lcpolltion of mud by the gradual drain- 

 ing olF of water. This muddy foil is 

 inore deep, tlie nearer you approach the 

 Jak«. In the ealtorn part of the county 

 it varies from perluips about 10 to '20 

 inches, and is of a dark chocolate Co- 

 lour. Within a few miles of the lake 

 it is very much deeper ; and, when mixed 

 with water, it is as black as ink; tiiis 

 covers a bluilh and faponaceous marl, 

 which, when rubbed between the fingers, 

 feels greafy : this is of very conliderable 

 depth, and covers, as may be feen at 

 the bottom of rivers, a fpecies oi' flate. 

 The depth of the rivers varies confider- 

 ■bly at different fealuns of the year : 

 fro(n the fall to the month of May they 

 ere deep and rapid ; during the fummer 

 they arc ihallovv. This may bo account- 

 •ed for thus : Trumbull lies at leaft .0000 

 fcet above the lea ; the waters, there- 

 fore, during the dry feafon, abfolutely 

 empty thendialves into the ocean ; but 

 wljen the great rivers are full, their wa- 

 ters prevent the adniilhon from the 

 fiualler ones, and thereby keep them 

 equally full. The natural products of 

 tiiis county are white poplars, papaw, 

 «hefuuts, fumac, oaks of ditFerent kinds, 

 beech, miiple, cucuiul>er, white pine, 

 &c. of a loftinefs and girth above any I 

 , ever before faw. Tiie foil is alfo cover- 

 ed with ginfang, fnake-root, nettles very 

 tall, &c. &c. The fcite of the county 

 is beautifully waving, never afcendiug, 

 however, to any thing which may ftrictly 

 be called a hill. At th« mouths of ri- 

 vers, as is ufual in new countries, the 

 inhabitants are fubjeft to agues, other- 

 %vife it is very healthy ; and if I might 

 credit wliat I heard, the difterence of 

 fhniate was much in favour of this vi- 

 cinity, compared with that of the At- 

 iiuitic coaft. 



Having thus giv«»n a general \ iew of 

 the county of Trumbull, I ini'^hc con- 

 clude the letter, and proceed in my next 

 on my journey ; but fo much has itecn 

 fiiid of land-fpcculators, and I iiave 

 given fo many warning hints relative to 

 them, that as I urn now in a new coun- 

 fiy, f'Mio which olftrs a fair tield io\ 



ile.MULY Mao.^No. Vol. 



honcft fpcculation), I fliall detain the 

 reader by a few obi'ervatious thereon. 



When this country (the United States) 

 was polVelfcd by the crown and a few 

 great proprietors, iinnienfs grants of 

 land were often made without the lead 

 idea of their future value : hence, fome 

 individuals are very rich in that fpecies 

 of property, and may be willing to di!- 

 |*)fe thereof at a price lower than the 

 United States will fell. After the revo- 

 lution, when tho wetiern world belonged 

 to the diti'erent ftatcs, the cojnpetition 

 in their fales alf(j kept the price low, 

 and gave great advantage to fpeculations 

 of every clals ; but llnce the right of 

 foil has been cedi.d to the general go- 

 vernment, it has fixed the price of wild 

 lands at two dollars the acre ; and, ex- 

 cept in particular cafes, where the par- 

 ties are compelled by pecuiuary didrefs 

 to fell lower, I believe any land offerej 

 at a lower price than the general go- 

 vernment will fell at is liable to fufpi- 

 cion, and on examination will frequently 

 be found either to be bad in itfelf, or 

 held on bad titles. The firll clafs of 

 f[)cculatars in lands are abandoned men, 

 without common honclly, who buy oti 

 ciedit any lauds they can lay hold yf, 

 and endeavour to put off the fame to 

 unvvai7 foreigners or ignorant natives, 

 and who are equally iudufcrent to th« 

 iniferies they produce to the fuflering 

 purchafers, or to the eafy friendi they 

 have induced to indorfe their papers to 

 the original proprietors, and who moltly 

 have to difcharge the debt, as this fpu- 

 cies of fpoculator generally daflies on 

 until lie becomes bankrupt, and thea 

 fcarcely pays a cent in the dollar. The 

 fccoud clafs prudently exaaiiiit's title and 

 foil, eltimates the nioney he his to fpare, 

 and vefts it in land ; calculating that, 

 from the increafe of population, and 

 coufcquently demand, its value will 

 necellarily increafe falter than it would 

 by the accumulation of inter<>ft. The 

 third fpecies is aCtu?ted by (imilar views; 

 but, in addition, adds an active induftry 

 to fettle the coimtry, and attends with 

 a parental eve to the progrefs nf the fet- 

 tiernent, and the welfare of the fettlers. 

 Of a gentleman of this drfcription, I 

 requeftcd tlie reafoii?; which induced him 

 to purchafe fo larszely as he had in 

 Truiubull. I fliall fubmit his anfwer to 

 your readers, as t conceive it not oidy 

 (lif|)lavs conliderable knowledge oFthe 

 * human heart, but concentrates all that 

 can be faidon the fubjcCt; 



4 A •" From 



