158 
but after this it became bad, and I was compelled, in conformity 
to my old custom, to walk a great part of the way. 
To the cloudy night succeeded a fine warm morning, and a 
picturesque valley where handsome houses and mills cheered the 
spirits. The mountains are filled with coal and several openings 
penetrating into them, prove that this important fuel is not ne¬ 
glected. We finally came to the left shore of the Ohio, and be¬ 
fore us was Pittsburgh covered by a black cloud of smoke. This 
city is situated at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monon¬ 
gahela; both these rivers after their union form the majestic Ohio. 
The water of the Monongahela is much more muddy than that of 
the Alleghany, and both rivers are distinguished separately at a 
great distance. The situation of Pittsburgh, as well as the Ohio 
valley, resemble in some measure the environs of Liege, on the 
Meuse, with the exception that the mountains of the Meuse are 
higher than these. We passed through a little village called Bir¬ 
mingham, where are salt-works, a glass-house, and iron-works, 
and arrived at the bridge which crosses the Monongahela. This 
bridge is marked on the map as projected, but has been finished for 
six or seven years. It is of wood resting on five stone piers, and 
consists of six arches of very solid construction, being covered 
and divided in two parts. A fine of fifteen dollars is exacted of 
those who ride on horseback or carriage faster than a walk; there 
are also foot-walks. Pittsburgh contains fifteen thousand inha¬ 
bitants-—it has notapleasing appearance, containing a great num¬ 
ber of wooden buildings, all of a smoky colour from the smoke 
continually ascending from the numerous manufactories. Pitts¬ 
burgh reminds you of an English city, and therefore is called the 
American Birmingham. It was nine o’clock, A. M. when we 
arrived, and took lodgings at the Mansion-house, kept by Colonel 
Ramsay, a good hotel, and a very polite landlord. 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
Pittsburgh.— Economy .— Mr. Rapp and his Society. 
I WAS scarcely settled here before I received a visit from 
two German residents, Mr. Bonnhorst, a justice of the peace, and 
Mr. Volz, a merchant. These gentlemen accompanied me to in¬ 
dicate the most remarkable places and manufactures of the city. 
We visited a French glass-cutter, a very skilful man, who 
