292 TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH AMERICA : 
it 3 the crevices between which were the onlj 
apertures for the admission of light, except the 
door; and the roof was so leaky, that we were 
sprinkled with the rain even as we sat at the 
fireside. That people can.live in such a mam 
ner, who have the necessaries and convenien¬ 
ces of life within their reach, as much as any 
others in the world, is really most astonishing \ 
It is, however, to be accounted for, by that de¬ 
sire of making money, which is the predo¬ 
minant feature in the character of the Ame¬ 
ricans in general, and leads the petty farmer in 
particular to suffer numberless inconveniences, 
when he can gain by so doing. If he can sell 
the produce of his land to advantage, he keeps 
as small a part of it as possible for himself, and 
lives the whole year round upon salt provi¬ 
sions, bad bread, and the fish he can catch in 
the rivers or lakes in the neighbourhood; if 
he has built a comfortable house for himself, 
he readily quits it, as soon as finished, for mo¬ 
ney, and goes to live in a mere hovel in the 
woods till he gets time to build another. Mo¬ 
ney is his idol, and to procure it he gladly fore¬ 
goes every self-gratification. 
From this miserable habitation, just men¬ 
tioned,- we departed as soon as the rain was 
over, and the wind coming round An our fa¬ 
vour, we got as far as Ticonderoga that night. 
The only dwelling here is the tavern, which 
