•185 
there are about eighty locks, several of which we passed; at one 
time I saw seven together, which formed a very pleasing sight 
About noon we reached a little German place, called Ham¬ 
burg, half way to Pottsville, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, 
not far from the Schuylkill and its canals. On the road to Ham¬ 
burg, we passed but one creek which had a name, Maiden creek. 
I dined at Hamburg, and met, as it was Sunday, a number of 
idlers, all Germans, assembled in the tavern. Several Germans 
of education in the United States, made the remark to me, which 
I found but too true, that next to the Irish, the Germans form 
the roughest portion of the emigrants. The truth of this remark 
again forced itself on my attention in Hamburg, and especially 
in the case of a young doctor, who had formerly studied in se¬ 
veral German universities, and gave vent to his giddiness in a 
vulgar manner. It was the first time in the United States that 
the affectation of republicanism arrested my attention. 
Not far beyond Hamburg, we came to a defile where the Schuyl¬ 
kill forces a passage through the Blue Mountains. This narrow 
vale was very romantic, and my interest in the scene was great¬ 
ly increased by the numberless blooming kalmias, improperly 
called laurel, the rhododendra, which offered a splendid sight 
amidst the rich vegetation of chesnut trees, butternuts, oaks, 
elms, sycamores, blooming tulip-trees, and sumacs. How fre¬ 
quently I thought of the great pleasure which my father would 
enjoy, if he could travel with me among these mountains, and 
admire the treasures of the vegetable world with his experienced 
eye! The way led along a mountain over the Schuylkill, which 
lay deep below me. It forms here a curve, and is made naviga¬ 
ble by means of dams, as there was too little room to continue 
the canal on the side of it. After we had passed the chief defile 
of the Blue Mountains, we left for a time the navigable Schuylkill 
with its canal, and passed through a narrow vale, through which 
the little Schuylkill flows, which is covered with kalmias, rhodo¬ 
dendrons, and some azaleas. Afterwards came another vale, 
formed by Scrub Hill and Scollop Hill; then a long mountain, 
called Limestone Ridge. Beyond this mountain we reached 
Orwigsburg, which, entirely enclosed by mountains, occupies a 
romantic situation; it is built in the form of a cross, and contains 
about eight hundred inhabitants. We rode. farther, through a 
valley covered with trees, again reached the Schuylkill with its 
canal, and at length arrived at Pottsville. 
This place is scarcely to be found in any map, as it arose but 
three or four years ago, and owes its existence to the neighbour¬ 
ing coal-mines. The navigation of the Schuylkill commences 
here; this is the place where the vessels which navigate this canal 
and river, small keel-boats, are built. A couple of saw-mills are 
Vol. II. 24 
