the destitution of comfortable clothing, that when the first Court of Common Pleas was held in Catfish, now Washington, Pa., a highly respectable citizen, whose presence was required as a magistrate, could not attend court without first borrowing a pair of leather breeches from an equally respectable neighbor, who was summoned on the grand jury. The latter lent them, and having no others, had to stay at home. This scarcity of clothing will not seem surprising when we consider the condition of the country at that time, and that most of these settlers brought but a scanty supply of clothing and bedding with them. Their stock could not be replenished until flax was grown, and made into cloth.

Those who are reared in contact with the ledgers, the claims, the lawsuits, and the bankruptcies of this contentious age, can form but a faint idea of real pioneer hospitality, in which half of the scanty supply of a needy family was often cheerfully served up to relieve the necessity of the still more needy traveler or emigrant family. From feelings and acts of this kind, as from seeds, has sprung much of the systematized benevolence in which many of our enlightened citizens are engaged.

The labor of all the settlers was greatly interrupted by the Indian war. Although the older settlers had some sheep yet their increase was slow, as the country abounded in wolves. It was therefore the work of time to secure a supply of wool. Deerskin was a substitute for cloth for men and boys, but not women and girls, although they were sometimes compelled to resort to it. The women had to spin, and generally to weave all the cloth for their families, and when the wife was feeble, and had a large family, her utmost efforts could not enable her to provide them with anything like comfortable clothing. The wonder is, and I shall never cease to wonder, that they did not sink under their burthens. Their patient endurance of these accumulated hardships did. not arise from a slavish servility, or insensibility to their rights and comforts. They justly appreciated their situation and nobly encountered the difficulties which could not be avoided. Possessing all the affections of the wife, the tenderness of the mother and the sympathies of the woman,

their tears flowed freely for others' griefs, while they bore their own with a fortitude which none but a woman could exercise. The entire education of her children devolved on the mother, and notwithstanding the difficulties to be encountered, she did not allow them to grow up wholly without instruction; but amidst all her numerous cares taught them to read, and instructed them in the principles of Christianity. To accomplish this, under the circumstances, was no easy task. The exciting influences which surrounded them, made the boys restless under restraint. Familiarized as they were to hardships from the cradle, and daily listening to stories of Indian massacres and depredations, and to the heroic exploits of some neighboring pioneer, who had taken an Indian scalp, or by some daring effort saved his own, ignorant of the sports and toys with which children in other circumstances are wont to be amused, no wonder they desired to emulate the soldier, or engage in the scarcely less exciting adventures of the hunter. Yet even many of these boys were subdued by the faithfulness of the mother, who labored to bring them up in the fear of God.

If the reader would reflect upon the difference between the difficulties of emigration at that early day, and those of the present, he must cast his eyes upon the rugged mountain steeps, then an almost unbroken and trackless wilderness, haunted by all sorts of wild and fierce beasts, and poisonous reptiles. He must then observe that civilization has since crossed them by the smooth waters of canals, or the gentle and even ascents of turnpikes and railroads, and strewed them thick with the comforts of life; he may then have a faint idea of the difference of the journey; and as to the difference of living after removal then and now, let him consider that then almost every article of convenience and subsistence must be brought with them, or rather, could neither be brought nor procured, and must necessarily be erased from the vocabulary of house-keeping; let him think what has since been done by the power of steam in ascending almost to the very sources of the many ramifications of our various rivers, carrying all the necessaries and many of the luxuries of life, and depositing them at points easy of access to almost

every new settler, and he will see that if settling is now difficult, it was distressing then. When he further reflects upon the abundant and overflowing products of the West, compared with the absence of agriculture, arts, and manufactures, in those early days, and now that not only our largest rivers and gigantic lakes, but the ocean itself, by the power of increased science, are all converted into mere ferries, he will at once conclude that the emigrants to Liberia, New Holland, Oregon, or California can know nothing of privation compared with the pioneers of the West. Our country now abounds in everything, and commerce extends over the world. If poverty or suffering exist, benevolence seeks it out, and relieves it, whether it be far off or near, whether in Greece or the islands of the sea.

III.

EARLY COMMERCE OF THE WEST.

When our emigrants had struggled through the first summer, and the Indians had returned to their homes, the leading men set about supplying the settlement with salt and iron. These indispensable articles could only be obtained east of the mountains at some point accessible by wagons from a seaport. Winchester and Chambersburgh were salt depots. One man and one or more boys were selected from each neighborhood to take charge of the horses, which the settlers turned into the common concern. Each horse was provided with a packsaddle, a halter, a lash rope, to secure the load, and sufficient feed for 20 days, a part of which was left on the mountains for a return supply. The owner of each horse provided the means of purchasing his own salt. A substitute for cash was found in skins, fur and ginseng, all of which were in demand east of the mountains. With these articles and a supply of provisions for the journey, they set out after selecting a captain for the company. Notwithstanding the fatigues to be endured (the entire return

journey having to be performed on foot) no office was ever sought with more importunity than was this by the boys who were old enough to be selected on this expedition. Not only salt, but merchandise for the supply of the country west of the mountains, was principally carried on pack-horses, until after 1788.

Packing continued to be an important business in Kentucky until 1795. The merchants of that state, for mutual convenience and protection, each provided with as many horses and drivers as his business required, repaired to the place of rendezvous, organized themselves, appointed officers, and adopted regulations for their government. Every man was well armed, provisioned and furnished with camp equipage. The expedition was conducted on military principles. The time and place of stopping and starting were settled by the officers, and sentries always watched at night. The company of merchants carried to the East furs, peltries, ginseng, flax, linen, cloth, and specie (the latter obtained from New Orleans in exchange for tobacco, corn and whiskey). These articles found a ready sale in Philadelphia or Baltimore for dry goods, groceries, and hardware, including bar-iron and copper for stills. These caravans would transport many tons of goods, and when arranged by experienced hands, the goods could be delivered without injury in Kentucky. It was necessary to balance the loads with great care in order to preserve the backs of the horses from injury. If well broke to packing, they could travel 25 miles a day. After the final peace with the Indians, this mode of transportation ceased; and the packers, who had been the lions of the day, were succeeded by still greater lions, the keel boatmen, who will be noticed hereafter.

Emigration continued to Western Pennsylvania. Even the most exposed districts increased in population, and many of the emigrants of 1785 and 1786 were what was then considered rich. They introduced into the country large stocks of cattle, sheep and hogs, cleared large farms, built grist and saw-mills, and gave employment to many poor settlers. But notwithstanding the brightening prospects, the healthy climate and good soil, many of the settlers became restless and

dissatisfied with their location, which they believed inferior to Kentucky or some other country still farther off in the West. Numbers sold their improvements in the fall of 1786 and prepared for descending the Ohio with their families in the spring. The various hardships which they had encountered in providing a home for their families seemed to increase their enterprise and to inspire them with a desire of new adventures. Their anticipated home was as much exposed to the tomahawk as the one which they were about to leave; beside the hazard of descending the river 500 miles in a flat-boat was very great. The capture of the boats and destruction of whole families frequently occurred. But these dangers did not lessen the tide of emigration which set down the river from 1786 to '95.

Few of the emigrants were well to live. They had sold their land in Pennsylvania for a small sum which they received in barter, generally in copper for stills, which was in great demand. A good still of 100 gallons would purchase 200 acres of land within ten miles of Pittsburgh, and in Kentucky could be exchanged for a much larger tract. The erection of mills gave a great stimulus to the industry of the settlers of Western Pennsylvania. New Orleans furnished a good market for all the flour, bacon, and whiskey which the upper country could furnish, and those who in 1784, had suffered for want of provisions, in 1790 became exporters.

The trade to New Orleans, like every enterprise of the day, was attended with great hardship and hazard. The right bank of the Ohio for hundreds of miles was alive with hostile Indians. The voyage was performed in flat-boats, and occupied from four to six months. Several neighbors united their means in building the boat, and in getting up the voyage; some giving their labor, and others furnishing materials. Each put on board his own produce at his own risk, and one of the owners always accompanied the boat as captain or supercargo. A boat of ordinary size required. about six hands, each of whom generally received $60 a trip on his arrival at New Orleans. They returned either by sea to Baltimore, where they would be within 300 miles of home, or more generally through the wilderness, a distance of about