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Earliest Settlement till the Year 1852, by Ben Casseday

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Title: The History of Louisville, from the Earliest Settlement till the Year 1852

Author: Ben Casseday

Release Date: February 2, 2012 [EBook #38740]

Language: English

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  Casseday's History of Louisville.


  THE
  HISTORY OF LOUISVILLE,
  FROM ITS
  EARLIEST SETTLEMENT
  TILL THE YEAR 1852.


  BY BEN CASSEDAY


  LOUISVILLE, KY.
  HULL AND BROTHER.
  1852.




  Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852,
  BY BEN. CASSEDAY,
  In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United
  States for the District of Kentucky.


  HULL & BROTHER,
  PRINTERS AND BINDERS.
  83 & 85 Fourth St., Louisville, Ky.




  To My Father,
  At whose Instance it was Undertaken.
  AND
  By whose Assistance it was Completed,
  This Book Is
  AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED.




PREFACE.


Very little need be said by way of Preface to the present volume. Cities,
like individuals, have ever found the utility of giving publicity to the
advantages they possess. The respective claims to public consideration of
almost all the larger American cities have already been set forth, and no
inconsiderable sagacity has been displayed in the preparation and issue of
these advertisements. It cannot be denied that Louisville has equal claim
upon the community for a fair hearing with many of these cities, and this
may serve as the apology which custom seems to render necessary for the
publication of this volume.

Louisville has attained her present rank and position without having
resorted to any of the factitious means so generally employed to promote
the progress of cities. A singular apathy in this regard has always
pervaded this community, and the present prosperity of the city is the
result only of fortuitous circumstances, of individual and unorganized
effort, or of local causes. The following extract from one of a series of
very able articles, published several years ago in the Louisville Journal,
conveys a very caustic and severe, but, at the same time, a very just and
merited rebuke of this apathetic indifference to political progress which
has been characteristic of this city. The author says: "In the recent book
of Judge Hall entitled "_The West--its commerce and navigation_," it is
stated that "Louisville keeps no account of its business." Such is really
the fact; we have no business organization--no chamber of commerce, no
mercantile clubs--no Exchange, no place "where merchants most do
congregate." Our city Fathers keep no record of our increase or doings,
and it is doubted whether the Mayor or Council, with the Assessors and
Collectors to advise with, can either guess or reckon our present
population within 4,000, or the number of respectable tenements erected
last year within 200 of the truth. There is not a series of our newspapers
or price currents to which a stranger has the right of access; if, indeed,
there be an entire series of either to be found in our city. Occasionally
a Directory is got up and contains a few statistics gathered without
system or concert, and necessarily imperfect, and these even are rarely
set before the public eye. Other cities have had for years the most
skillful trumpeters and gazetteers; their men of influence and wealth have
contributed largely of money and time (more important than money) not only
to make their city attractive but to show off those attractions. Does
anything agitate the public mind, whether religious, political, or
financial--whether it relates to the commerce of the lakes, famine in
Ireland, or an armory or hospital on the western rivers, they seek to be
the first to write and the first to speak; they raise one committee to
gather and another to publish every fact and argument which will make the
excitement enure to their benefit. All this is unobjectionable. Other
cities have great attractions, and there is no reason why these should not
be known; the gospel itself requires publication; but in this _democratic_
country are we to allow any other city to take a higher position than that
to which she is entitled by her skill, strength and capacity? Is it not
high time to advertise the cheapness and goodness of our wares? If
Cincinnati send a special agent to Germany with the cards of her
lot-holders and a map of this country, represented as a narrow strip with
New York at one terminus and Cincinnati at the other, can we not extend
the survey to Louisville, and add the name of this city to the catalogue
published in Europe."

These remarks are hardly less merited now than at the time when they were
published. The last two years, it is true, have awakened new energies and
brought about a greater disposition to prompt and efficient action in
promoting a useful business organization and in setting forth the claims
of Louisville in a properly attractive light. Much time, however, has been
wasted and much valuable material has been lost by the long delay in this
matter. To endeavor to restore this lost time and to replace a part at
least of this valuable material, is one of the prominent objects had in
view in the preparation of this history.

The want of interest which is generally felt in mere statistical details,
even if ever so carefully compiled, coupled with the fact that there is
really much in the history of Louisville which is capable of interesting
the general reader, have induced me to prefer offering to the public a
historical detail of the rise, progress and present position of the city,
instead of following the course which has been pursued by most writers of
local history. It is no part of the design of this volume to eulogize
Louisville beyond its deserts. The greatest care has been taken to prevent
any tendency to exaggeration in all the statistical parts of the work, and
the object constantly had in view has been to present both to citizens and
strangers an authentic and reliable statement of all that is useful or
interesting in the past and present history of the city. It is due to
myself to state, that, as may readily be supposed from what has been said
above, I have found great difficulty in procuring the necessary data for
even this unpretending volume. And if the town reader should find any
errors or omissions in these pages I cannot help but hope for some
leniency at his hands in view of the fact that this is the history of a
city which has never possessed an official record of any kind, and that
even the material which has been procured at divers times and in distant
places has cost no inconsiderable amount both of time and trouble in the
search.

The present statistics of the city were carefully collected by personal
application and investigation; and I desire to express my profoundest
acknowledgments for the kindness and interest with which my wishes were
met and forwarded. With but one single exception, every information which
I could have desired was freely furnished, and many valuable suggestions
were offered which I have since found extremely useful. I also desire to
express my acknowledgments to Mr. R. Harlan, of Frankfort, for his kind
assistance in the tedious and laborious work of examining the census
reports.

In closing a task which has occupied such moments of leisure as I could
reclaim from the more serious pursuits of life for about eighteen months,
I cannot but hope that the result of this tedious labor may really compass
the end for which it was intended. I can claim nothing for the book on the
score of literary merit; the style is one entirely different from anything
which I have heretofore attempted, and the volume does not seek to claim
rank as a literary production. If, however, it will serve to contribute a
moiety to the prosperity of my native city; if it will serve to add one
industrious and enterprising man to the number of her citizens, I shall be
satisfied that this labor has not been in vain, nor this exertion spent
for naught.

BEN. CASSEDAY.




CONTENTS.


  Position of Louisville--Falls of the Ohio                       15
  Advent of Captain Bullitt                                       16
  Bullitt's Interview with the Indians                            17
  Campbell's and Conally's Patents                                21
  Advent of General Geo. R. Clark                                 22
  Clark's Expedition to Virginia                                  23
    "  Secret orders from Patrick Henry                           25
    "  Arrival at the Falls                                       28
  Account of a social party in 1779                               31
  Account of life on the Frontier                                 32
  The Hard Winter                                                 43
  Act for establishing the town                                   44
  Early surveys of the town                                       47
  Reminiscences of the Ponds                                      50
  Advent of Colonel Geo. Slaughter                                53
  Incidents of the Indian Wars                                    54
  Division of the State into Counties                             58
  Building of Fort Nelson                                         60
  Battle of Blue Licks                                            61
  Barge Navigation                                                62
  The Boatwreckers--Colonel Plug                                  67
  The Bargemen--Mike Fink                                         71
  Peace declared                                                  81
  First Store in Louisville                                       83
  Tom Paine's book                                                84
  First Kentucky Convention                                       85
  Clark's Treaty at Fort McIntosh                                 86
    "  Expedition to Vincennes                                    89
  Mississippi Troubles                                            90
  First newspaper in Kentucky                                     97
  Act in relation to the Trustees--Major Quirey                   98
  Kentucky erected into a State                                  102
  First Paper Mill--Tax list                                     103
  Office of Falls Pilot created--Fire companies established      104
  Acts of Assembly--1800                                         107
  Anecdote                                                       109
  Jeffersonville--Shippingport                                   110
  First Canal Company chartered                                  112
  First newspaper in Louisville                                  115
  Second tax list                                                116
  Theater                                                        117
  Establishment of a Police                                      118
  Courthouse built--Early Steam Navigation                       119
  Earthquakes, description of, and table                         121
  Western Courier (newspaper) established                        126
  List of Steamboats up to 1819                                  128
  First Catholic Church                                          134
  First Bank--Foundry                                            135
  Paving the Streets                                             136
  First Methodist Church--Portland laid out--New Albany          137
  Manifest of Barges--Unhealthiness of Louisville                139
  List of Stores &c.                                             140
  Trip of the Enterprize--First boat built                       141
  Shinplaster currency                                           142
  Hope Distillery                                                143
  Fearon's account of Louisville                                 144
  Branch Bank of the United States                               146
  First Presbyterian Church built--burned                        147
  Hospital Company incorporated                                  148
  Dinner to Captain Shreve                                       150
  Death of General Geo. R. Clark                                 151
  Price Current--1818--Commercial Bank--Public Advertiser        152
  Dr. McMurtrie's Sketches of Louisville                         153
  J. J. Audubon--Visit of President                              155
  Purchase of Fire Engines                                       159
  Tax list and Census for 1821                                   160
  Commonwealth Bank established                                  162
  Issue of Town Notes--Epidemic of 1822                          163
  First Episcopal Church--Lafayette's Visit                      165
  Building a Wharf--Louisville and Portland Canal                166
  The Focus--Resolutions for a Charter                           173
  Louisville becomes a City                                      174
  First City Officers                                            177
  Bank Robbery--New Methodist Church--City School                179
  Second Presbyterian Church--Daily Journal                      182
  Bank of Kentucky built--Louisville Lyceum                      184
  Flood of '32--Unitarian Church--Directory &c.                  185
  Bank of Louisville chartered--Museum                           187
  Government Deposites removed                                   188
  Water Works                                                    189
  Comical Guards                                                 190
  Death of Lafayette                                             191
  Tax List--Table of Exports &c. 1830                            192
  Bridge over the Ohio--Panic of '37                             194
  Notice of Amelia's Poems                                       195
  Medical College                                                197
  Portland Railroad                                              198
  Newsletter--Historical Society--Provident Society              199
  Visit of America Vespucci                                      200
  Introduction of Gas                                            202
  Great Fire                                                     203
  Statistics of '45                                              205
  Opening of Louisville and Frankfort Railroad                   206
  New Charter                                                    208
  Louisville and its environs                                    209
  Society of Louisville                                          210
  Churches, Streets, &c.                                         216
  Public Education                                               219
  Health                                                         225
  Markets--Periodicals                                           227
  Table of Occupations                                           228
  Commercial Statistics                                          230
  Louisville as a Market for Tobacco                             234
      "       "     "     "  Cotton                              237
      "       "     "     "  Pork                                240
  Manufacturing Statistics                                       241
  Conclusion                                                     247
  Appendix




HISTORY OF LOUISVILLE.




CHAPTER I.


The utility and profit of the local history of cities is no longer a
matter of doubt. Whether considered solely as objects of interest or
amusement, or as having the still wider utility of making known abroad the
individuality of the places they describe, these records are worthy of
high consideration. And although in a country like ours this department of
history can claim to chronicle no great events, nor to relate any of those
local traditions that make many of the cities of the Old World so famous
in story and song, yet they can fulfil the equal use of directing the
attention of those abroad to the rise, progress and present standing of
places which may fairly claim, in the future, what has made others great
in the past. And in an age when every energy of the whole brotherhood of
man is directed to the future, and when mere utilitarianism has taken the
place of romance, or of deeds of high renown, it is a matter of more than
ordinary interest and value to all, to note the practical advancement, and
so to calculate upon the basis of the past, the probable results of the
future of those cities in the New World, which seem to present advantages,
either social or pecuniary, to that large class of foreigners and others,
who are constantly seeking for homes or means of occupation among us. Nor
is it to these alone, that such local history is of value. The country is
beginning already to possess much unemployed capital seeking for
investment; while many, having already procured the means of living well,
are seeking for homes more congenial to their tastes than the places where
they have lived but for pecuniary profit. To both of these, the history of
individual cities is an invaluable aid in helping the one to discover a
means of advantageously employing his surplus money, and in aiding the
other to find a home possessing those social advantages which will render
him comfortable and happy.

But it is to the emigrant foreigner that local history is of the greatest
benefit. Leaving a country with whose resources, social, moral, and
political, he is intimately acquainted for one of which he knows almost
nothing, such works, carefully and authentically written, are to him what
the guide-books of the Old World are to the wonder-seeking traveler; they
present him at once with a daguerreotype view of the land of his adoption
and point out to him every advantage and disadvantage, every chance of
profit or of pleasure, every means of gain, every hope of gratification
that is anywhere to be afforded.

Impressed with these opinions, it is proposed to present the reader with
an authentic and impartial history of Louisville; one which may be
implicitly relied on in its calculations and statistical details and which
shall present as accurate and faithful a historical survey as can be
obtained from any data known to the writer or attainable by him.

Louisville lies on the Southern bank of the Ohio river at the falls or
rapids of that stream, in longitude 85 deg. 30' west of Greenwich, and
latitude 38 deg. 3' north. Its position is one of peculiar excellence,
situated at a point where the navigation of the stream is naturally
obstructed by the rapids, and where, for six miles above the site of the
city, the river stretches out into a broad, smooth sheet of water a mile
in width, almost without a current, and presents a safe and beautiful
harbor for a great distance along the Kentucky shore; embracing too within
its limits the debouchure of Beargrass Creek, which also affords a
convenient and accessible resting place for barges, keel, and flatboats,
sheltering them from all the dangers to which an open harbor would render
them liable, it presents advantages which at once mark it to the sagacious
eye as a proper location for a town of the greatest importance. Aside from
all these advantages, the immense surface of level country which spreads
out on either side of the rapids for so great a distance, is of itself
worthy of consideration. The term "falls" which has been and is so
commonly applied to the obstruction in the river at this point, is apt to
produce an incorrect idea in the mind of one who does not know exactly how
to apply the term. The falls are not a precipitous descent of water, but
simply "an obstruction in the course of the river caused by a ledge of
limestone rock running obliquely across its bed, with channels or chutes
through the mound, produced or modified by the force of the water." This
however is so serious an obstacle to the navigation of the stream as to
create the necessity, which always exists, except at the highest stage of
the water, for the debarkation and re-shipment of goods above and below
this point, thus affording great commercial advantages to the city
situated beside these rapids.

The peculiar attractions of such a location as this could not long go
unheeded, and accordingly as early as 1770 parties came from Fort Pitt,
now Pittsburgh, probably sent by Lord Dunmore, then Governor of Virginia,
and surveyed the lands adjacent to the falls, with a view of distributing
them as bounty lands. The earliest account, however, which we have of
anything like a settlement here is that of Capt. Thomas Bullitt, who in
1773, deputed by a special commission from William and Mary College in
Virginia, came to survey lands and effect settlements in the then
_territory_ of Kentucky. His practiced eye perceived the advantages of
this port and he moored his traveling barge in the safe and beautiful
harbor of Beargrass, and here established a camp to protect his men from
the weather and to shelter his stores. From this point he made surveys of
much of the adjacent country as far down as Salt river, to which he gave
its present title from his having there found the salt lick still known by
his name. He estimated the advantages of his new settlement at their full
worth, and purposed to return at once to his friends and procure the
means of re-visiting and establishing it. But Death sought him in the
midst of his well laid plans, and it was left for another to complete what
his sagacity and enterprise had commenced.

To show that Bullitt's plans had been well matured, and also to give some
idea of the prudence and intelligence of the man, it is only necessary to
cite, from Marshall's History of Kentucky, the following not uninteresting
facts:

"On his way to Kentucky," says this historian, "Bullitt made a visit to
Chillicothe, a Shawnee town, to hold a friendly talk with those Indians on
the subject of his intended settlement; and for the particular purpose of
obtaining their assent to the measure. He knew they claimed the right of
hunting in the country--a right to them of the utmost importance, and
which they had not relinquished. He also knew they were brave, and
indefatigable; and that if they were so disposed, could greatly annoy the
inhabitants of the intended settlement. It was, therefore, a primary
object in his estimation to obtain their consent to his projected
residence, and cultivation of the lands. To accomplish this, he left his
party on the Ohio and traveled out to the town unattended, and without
announcing his approach by a runner. He was not discovered until he got
into the midst of Chillicothe, when he waved his white flag as a token of
peace. The Indians saw with astonishment a stranger among them in the
character of ambassador, for such he assumed by the flag, and without any
intimation of his intended visit. Some of them collected about him, and
asked him, What news? Was he from the Long Knife? and why, if he was an
ambassador, he had not sent a runner?"

Bullitt, not in the least intimidated, replied that he had no bad news--he
was from the Long Knife--and as the red men and white men were at peace,
he had come among his brothers to have a friendly talk with them about
living on the other side of the Ohio; that he had no runner swifter than
himself, and that he was in haste and could not wait the return of a
runner. 'Would you,' said he, 'if you were very hungry and had killed a
deer, send your squaw to town to tell the news, and wait her return before
you eat?' This put the bystanders in high good humor, and gave them a
favorable opinion of their interlocutor. And upon his desiring that the
warriors should be called together, they were forthwith convened, and he
promptly addressed them in the following speech, extracted from his
journal:

"BROTHERS:

"I am sent by my people, whom I left on the Ohio, to settle the country on
the other side of that river, as low down as the falls. We come from
Virginia. The king of my people has bought from the nations of red men
both north and south all the land; and I am instructed to inform you and
all the warriors of this great country, that the Virginians and the
English are in friendship with you. This friendship is dear to them, and
they intend to keep it sacred. The same friendship they expect from you,
and from all the nations to the lakes. We know that the Shawnees and the
Delawares are to be our nearest neighbors, and we wish them to be our best
friends as we will be theirs.

"Brothers, you did not get any of the money or blankets given for the land
which I and my people are going to settle. This was hard for you. But it
is agreed by the great men who own the land, that they will make a present
both to the Delawares and the Shawnees the next year and the year
following that shall be as good.

"Brothers, I am appointed to settle the country, to live in it, to raise
corn, and to make proper rules and regulations among my people. There will
be some principal men from my country very soon, and then much more will
be said to you. The Governor desires to see you, and will come out this
year or the next. When I come again I will have a belt of wampum. This
time I came in haste and had not one ready.

"My people only want the country to settle and cultivate. They will have
no objection to your hunting and trapping there. I hope you will live by
us as brothers and friends.

"You now know my heart, and as it is single towards you, I expect you will
give me a kind talk; for I shall write to my Governor what you say to me
and he will believe all I write."

This speech was received with attention, and Bullitt was told that the
next day he should be answered.

The Indians are in the habit of proceeding with great deliberation in
matters of importance, and all are such to them which concern their
hunting.

On the morrow, agreeably to promise, they were assembled at the same
place, and Bullitt being present they returned an answer to his speech as
follows:

"OLDEST BROTHER--_The Long Knife_:

"We heard you would be glad to see your brothers, the Shawnees and
Delawares, and talk with them. But we are surprised that you sent no
runner before you, and that you came quite near us through the trees and
grass a hard journey without letting us know until you appeared among us.

"Brother, we have considered your talk carefully, and we are glad to find
nothing bad in it, nor any ill meaning. On the contrary you speak what
seems kind and friendly, and it pleased us well. You mentioned to us your
intention of settling the country on the other side of the Ohio with your
people. And we are particularly pleased that they are not to disturb us in
our hunting. For we must hunt to kill meat for our women and children, and
to have something to buy our powder and lead with, and to get us blankets
and clothing.

"All our young brothers are pleased with what you said. We desire that you
will be strong in fulfilling your promises towards us, as we are
determined to be very straight in advising our young men to be kind and
peaceable to you.

"This spring we saw something wrong on the part of our young men. They
took some horses from the white people. But we have advised them not to do
so again, and have cleared their hearts of all bad intentions. We expect
they will observe our advice as they like what you said."

"This speech, delivered by Girty, was interpreted by Richard Butler, who,
during the stay of Captain Bullitt, had made him his guest and otherwise
treated him in the most friendly manner. But having executed his mission
very much to his own satisfaction, Bullitt took his leave and rejoined his
party, who were much rejoiced to see him return.

"He made report of his progress and success, and his comrades with light
hearts and high expectations launched their keels on the stream which
conveyed them to the shore of Kentucky and the landing before spoken of."

Capt. Bullitt had high testimonials of his eminent fitness for the
position he had assumed. General Washington himself, than whom no one was
at once a better judge and a more valuable authority in such matters,
spoke in the highest terms of his capacity in the exercise of the
multifarious duties of surveyor, navigator and trader. Had not a premature
death taken him away in the midst of his labors, it is certainly to him
that we should have owed the earliest prosperity of the city.

Even previous to the arrival of Capt. Bullitt, however, these lands at the
falls had been patented and were owned, most probably as bounty lands, by
John Campbell and Dr. John Conally. Of Campbell we know little, if
anything; but Conally played a somewhat important part in the early
history of the West. He was the nephew of Colonel Croghan and the friend
of Lord Dunmore, and was by him dispatched in 1774 to assert the claims of
Virginia upon Fort Pitt, where he was arrested, before he had taken more
than the initiatory step in his proceeding, by Arthur St. Clair, the
representative of the proprietors of Pennsylvania in the West, and only
released on his own recognizance. He did not, however, choose to return
into the custody of the law, but, collecting a band of followers, he came
again in March of the same year and took possession, in Lord Dunmore's
name, of Fort Pitt; rebuilt it and called it Fort Dunmore. It was he who
occasioned the bloody fights known in the history of border warfare as
Logan's or Cresap's war. He afterwards, in 1775, formed a plot against the
government, which was discovered, and this notoriously tyrannical and
wicked man was thrown into prison and remained an unpitied captive till
1781. After the revolution he became a Tory and thus his lands, at the
falls and elsewhere, became forfeit to the State of Virginia. It was,
however, for him and Campbell that Bullitt surveyed the lands adjacent to
the falls. The extent of their tract was about 4000 acres.

After Bullitt's expedition had received this final check, the falls were
visited only by a few hunters and traders; and it was not until 1778 that
any new attempt was made toward a permanent settlement on this site. The
enterprising and gallant COL. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK, whose name is so well
known to all readers of the early history of Kentucky or of the West,
comes now to be associated with this history. This city is so deeply
indebted to him, not only for its earlier prosperity, but for its very
existence, that it becomes alike agreeable and useful to inquire something
as to the circumstances of his settlement here. He was born in Albemarle
county, Virginia, and, like our great Washington, was in early life a land
surveyor, and, like him too, a man of unusual talent, discrimination and
forethought. He came first to Kentucky in 1772. But his history becomes
first associated with that of the State in 1774 when he served in
Dunmore's war. In the latter part of 1775, having gained the rank of
Major, he returned to his native State in order to prepare for his
permanent removal to Kentucky, which took place in the Spring following.
Up to this time Kentucky had been held to be a part of Fincastle county,
in Virginia; but its inhabitants had no rights or protection as citizens
of that State. Upon Clark's removal to Kentucky he readily saw the
advantages of the new settlement, but his sagacity at the same time taught
him that a State whose very title was in dispute, and which was so far
beyond the old lines of civilization, and so removed from the protection
of the elder commonwealths would not attract settlers with that rapidity
to which its immensely superior natural advantages entitled it. He
perceived that the future prosperity of his adopted home depended upon its
being under the aid and protection of Virginia, or upon its being made a
separate State. The result of this deliberation and of his promulgation of
these views was that he was chosen a member of the Virginia assembly and
carried to them a petition for admission into their commonwealth. He had
the misfortune, however, after having walked the whole distance, to find
this body adjourned. This did not, however, deter him from prosecuting his
plan for the good of Kentucky. He visited the Governor, Patrick Henry, and
laid his case before that wise and patriotic man. The Governor
acknowledged the justness of his claim, and gave him a letter to the
Executive Council. This body, fearful of exceeding its powers, could or
would do little for him. He demanded powder which they promptly offered
to lend him on his individual security; an offer which Clark peremptorily
refused, and so intimidated them by his dauntless manner and his threats
of consequences that finally the order was issued for the powder to be
supplied to Clark at Fort Pitt. And, on the re-assembling of the
delegates, after much warm discussion, Kentucky was erected into a county
of Virginia. Both these objects accomplished, Clark returned to Pittsburg,
procured the powder and with great difficulty and danger succeeded in
bringing it down to the present site of Maysville, where he carefully
concealed it and then went to the fort at Harrodsburg and sent a convoy
for the buried treasure, where it finally arrived in safety. This slight
outline sketch shows the first of a series of events which led Col. Clark
to the falls of Ohio. The second event which bears upon this point is
alike creditable to him. And here we must be indebted to Mr. Perkins'
Annals of the West for a condensed narration of this affair.

"Clark understood," says this excellent compilation, "the whole game of
the British. He saw that it was through their possession of Detroit,
Vincennes, Kaskaskia and the other western posts--which gave them easy and
constant access to the Indian tribes of the north-east--that the British
hoped to effect such a union of the wild men as would annihilate the
frontier fortresses. He knew that the Delawares were divided in feeling,
and the Shawnees but imperfectly united in favor of England, ever since
the murder of Comstalk. He was convinced that could the British in the
north-west be defeated and expelled, the natives might be easily awed or
bribed into neutrality; and by spies sent for the purpose, and who were
absent from April 20th to June 22d, he had satisfied himself that an
enterprise against the Illinois settlements might easily succeed. Having
made up his mind, on the 1st of October he left Harrodsburg for the East,
and reached the capital of Virginia November the 5th. Opening his mind to
no one he watched with care the state of feeling among those in power,
waiting the proper moment to present his scheme. Fortunately, while he was
upon his road, on the 17th of October, Burgoyne had surrendered, and hope
was again predominant in the American councils. When, therefore, the
western soldier, upon the 10th of December, broke the subject of his
proposed expedition against the forts on the far distant Mississippi to
Patrick Henry, who was still governor, he met with a favorable hearing,
and though doubts and fears arose by degrees, yet so well digested were
his plans, that he was able to meet each objection and remove every
seeming impossibility."

Having thus satisfied the Virginia leaders of the feasibility of his plan,
he received on the 22d of January two sets of instructions--the one open,
authorizing him to enlist seven companies to go to Kentucky, subject to
his orders, and to serve for three months from their arrival in the West;
the other set secret, and drawn as follows:

"_Virginia: Sct. In Council, Williamsburg, Jan. 22d, 1778._

"LIEUTENANT COLONEL GEORGE ROGERS CLARK:

"You are to proceed, with all convenient speed, to raise seven companies of
soldiers, to consist of fifty men each, officered in the usual manner, and
armed most properly for the enterprise; and with this force attack the
British post at Kaskaskia.

"It is conjectured that there are many pieces of cannon and military
stores to a considerable amount at that place, the taking and preservation
of which would be a valuable acquisition to the State. If you are so
fortunate therefore, as to succeed in your expedition, you will take every
possible measure to secure the artillery and stores and whatever may
advantage the State.

"For the transportation of the troops, provisions, &c., down the Ohio, you
are to apply to the commanding officer at Fort Pitt for boats; and during
the whole transaction you are to take especial care to keep the true
destination of your force secret; its success depends upon this. (Orders
are therefore given to Capt. Smith to secure the two men from Kaskaskia.)
Similar conduct will be proper in similar cases.

"It is earnestly desired that you show humanity to such British subjects
and other persons as fall in your hands. If the white inhabitants at that
post and the neighborhood, will give undoubted evidence of their
attachment to this State, (for it is certain they live within its limits,)
by taking the test prescribed by law, and by every other way and means in
their power, let them be treated as fellow citizens, and their persons and
property duly secured. Assistance and protection against all enemies
whatever, shall be afforded them; and the Commonwealth of Virginia is
pledged to accomplish it. But if these people will not accede to these
reasonable demands, they must feel the miseries of war, under the
direction of that humanity that has hitherto distinguished Americans, and
which it is expected you will ever consider as the rule of your conduct,
and from which you are in no instance to depart.

"The corps you are to command are to receive the pay and allowance of
militia, and to act under the laws and regulations of this State, now in
force, as militia. The inhabitants of this post will be informed by you,
that in case they accede to the offers of becoming citizens of this
Commonwealth, a proper garrison will be maintained among them, and every
attention bestowed to render their commerce beneficial; the fairest
prospects being opened to the dominions of both France and Spain.

"It is in contemplation to establish a post near the mouth of the Ohio.
Cannon will be wanted to fortify it. Part of those at Kaskaskia will be
easily brought thither, or otherwise secured, as circumstances will make
necessary.

"You are to apply to General Hand, at Pittsburgh, for powder and lead
necessary for this expedition. If he cannot supply it, the person who has
that which Capt. Lynn brought from New Orleans can. Lead was sent to
Hampshire by my orders, and that may be delivered you. Wishing you
success, I am, Sir, your humble servant.

  P. HENRY.

"With these instructions and twelve hundred pounds in the depreciated
currency of the time, Colonel Clark, (for such was now his title,) on the
4th of February started for Pittsburgh. It had been thought best to raise
the troops needed beyond the mountains, as the colonies were in want of
all the soldiers they could muster east of the Alleghanies, to defend
themselves against the British forces. Clark therefore proposed to enlist
men about Pittsburg, while Maj. W. B. Smith, for the same purpose went to
the Holston, and other officers to other points. None, however, succeeded
as they hoped to; at Pittsburg Clark found great opposition to the
intention of carrying men away to defend the outposts in Kentucky, while
their own citadel and the whole region about it was threatened by the
savage allies of England; and Smith, though he nominally succeeded in
raising four companies, was unable essentially to aid his superior officer
after all. With three companies and several private adventurers, Clark at
length commenced his descent of the Ohio, which he navigated as far as the
Falls, where he took possession of and fortified Corn Island, opposite the
spot now occupied by Louisville."

It is only necessary to state here that Clark's success in this expedition
was complete and perfect, and that a more brilliant campaign has probably
never been performed by any general. More than this does not immediately
concern this history.

It is estimated that Col. Clark left in his new fort on this island about
thirteen families, when he proceeded on his journey to Kaskaskia. And so
brave, hardy and resolute were these pioneers, that, notwithstanding they
were separated from the nearest of their countrymen by four hundred miles
of hostile country, filled with savages whose dearest hunting grounds they
were about to occupy; notwithstanding they knew that these relentless
savages were not only inimical on account of the invasion of their
choicest territory, but were aided by all the arts, the presents and the
favors of the British in seeking to destroy their settlements;
notwithstanding all these terrifying circumstances, those dauntless
pioneers went quietly to work, and with the rifle in one hand and the
implements of agriculture in the other, deliberately set about planting,
and actually succeeded in raising a crop of corn on their little island.
It is thus that Corn Island derived its name. And truly so bold and heroic
an act as this of that feeble band deserves a perpetuity beyond what the
mere name of the island will give it. Columns have been reared and statues
erected, festivals have been instituted and commemorations held of deeds
far less worthy of renown than was this little settlement's crop of corn.
But like many other deeds of true heroism, it is forgotten, for there was
wanted the pen and the lyre to make it live forever. The founders of the
parent colony themselves did never greater deeds of heroism than did these
pioneers of Louisville. And yet the very historians of the fact speak of
it without a word of wonder or of admiration. Even in Louisville herself,
now in her palmiest days, the Pilgrim's Landing is commemorated each
returning year, while the equal daring, danger and victory of the Western
Pioneer has sunk into oblivion. But it is ever so. Men may live for a
hundred years within the very roar of Niagara, and yet live uninspired
until the same sound falls upon the ear or the same sight greets the eye
on the far-off shores of the Evelino or the Arno. Erin's Bard has ever
told the praises of the Oriental Clime; the Lord of English verse has
tuned his lyre under a foreign sky; the Mantuan Bard has sung "_arma
virumque Trojae_" and the Poet of Italy has soared even beyond the bounds
of space in search of novelty; so must we wait for a stranger hand to
weave the magic charm around the pioneers of our forest land. Let this
frail record, at least, lend its little quota toward the honorable
preservation of the names of Captain JAMES PATTON, who piloted the first
boat over the falls, RICHARD CHENOWETH, JOHN TUEL, WM. FAITH, and JOHN
MCMANUS, the only names that history or tradition has given us of those
earliest settlers of our native city.

The chief subsistance of this little band had of course to be derived from
the products of the chase, for the Indians would never have allowed them
to attain a sufficiency of food by the slow and laborious processes of
agriculture. Indeed one of the historians of this period roundly states
that Kentucky could never have been settled had the products of the soil
been the only resource of its pioneer inhabitants. Fortunately the woods
of Kentucky so abounded in game, that it was easy for its early settlers
to supply themselves with abundance of food from these sources. But the
difficulty of carrying their game at all seasons of the year and all
stages of the water to their insulated home, and the various annoyances of
their constrained position on the island, united with the encouragement
they derived from the wonderful success of their old commander in
Illinois, soon determined the little colony to remove to the main bank of
the river. And accordingly in the fall of 1778, or more probably in the
spring of 1779, having built a fort on the eastern side of the large
ravine which formerly entered the river at the present termination of
Twelfth Street, they emigrated thither and thus laid the first permanent
foundation of the present city of Louisville.

It was about this time that we have the first record of a social party in
our city now so celebrated for its elegant entertainments and luxurious
repasts. The bill of fare on that memorable occasion had at least the
great and unusual merit of novelty to recommend it. We give the account of
the event in the words of its own historian: "It is related," says he,
"that when the first patch of wheat was raised about this place, after
being ground in a rude and laborious hand-mill, it was sifted through a
_gauze neckerchief_, belonging to the mother of the gallant man who gave
us the information, as the best bolting cloth to be had. It was then
shortened, as the housewife phrases it, with _Raccoon fat_, and the whole
station invited to partake of a sumptuous feast upon a _flour cake_!" How
little of a prophet would he have been accounted who had then predicted
that, in less than sixty years, the inhabitants of the very spot where
they then stood should have at their command all the fruits and viands of
every quarter of the globe!

It may not be inappropriate at this period of our history, and while upon
this subject of parties and feasts, to extract, partly from Mr. Marshall,
and partly from Doddridge and others, some account of the habits of life
among our progenitors here. To many, especially to those who have long
been intimate with Western Frontier Life, a few of the succeeding pages
may present nothing that is either novel or interesting; but to those to
whom the country and its social institutions are alike new, we are sure
that nothing more could be offered likely to excite their interest or to
promote their amusement than this vivid and life-like description of the
manners and customs of the inhabitants of Louisville seventy years ago. We
copy the account in full:--

"Then the women did the offices of the household; milked the cows, cooked
the mess, prepared the flax, spun, wove, and made the garment of linen or
linsey; the men hunted, and brought in the meat; they planted, ploughed,
and gathered the corn; grinding it into meal at a handmill, or pounding it
into hominy in the mortar, was occasionally the work of either, or the
joint labor of both. The men exposed themselves alone to danger; they
fought the Indians, they cleared the land, they reared the hut or built
the fort, in which the women were placed for safety. There might
incidentally be a few articles brought to the country for sale, in a
private way; but there was no store for supply. Wooden vessels, either
_turned_ or _coopered_ were in common use as table furniture. A tin cup
was an article of delicate luxury almost as rare as an iron fork. Every
hunter carried his knife; it was no less the implement of a warrior; not
unfrequently the rest of the family was left with but one or two for the
use of all. A like workmanship composed the table or the stool; a slab
hewed with the axe, and sticks of a similar manufacture, set in for legs,
supported both. When the bed was, by chance or refinement, elevated above
the floor, and given a fixed place, it was often laid on slabs placed
across poles, supported on forks set in the earthen floor; or where the
floor was puncheons, the bedstead was hewed pieces, pinned on upright
posts, or let into them by auger holes. Other utensils and furniture were
of a corresponding description, applicable to the time.

"The food was of the most wholesome and nutritive kind. The richest milk,
the finest butter, and best meat that ever delighted man's palate, were
here eaten with a relish which health and labor only know. These were
shared by friend and stranger in every cabin with profuse hospitality.

"Hats were made of the native fur; and the buffalo wool employed in the
composition of cloth, as was also the bark of the wild nettle.

"There was some paper money in the country, which had not depreciated one
half nor even a fourth as much as it had at the seat of government. If
there was any gold or silver its circulation was suppressed. The price of
a beaver was five hundred dollars.

"The hunting shirt was universally worn. This was a kind of loose frock,
reaching half way down the thighs, with large sleeves, open before, and so
wide as to lap over a foot or more when belted. The cape was large and
sometimes handsomely fringed with a ravelled piece of cloth of a different
color from that of the hunting shirt itself. The bosom of his dress served
as a wallet to hold a chunk of bread, cakes, jerk, tow for wiping the
barrel of his rifle, or any other necessary for the hunter or warrior. The
belt which was always tied behind, answered several purposes besides that
of holding the dress together. In cold weather the mittens, and sometimes
the bullet-bag occupied the front part of it. To the right side was
suspended the tomahawk, and to the left was the scalping knife in its
leathern sheath. The hunting shirt was generally made of linsey, sometimes
of coarse linen, and a few of dressed deer skins. These last were very
cold and uncomfortable in wet weather. The shirt and jacket were of the
common fashion. A pair of drawers or breeches and leggins, were the dress
of the thighs and legs; a pair of moccasins answered for the feet much
better than shoes.--These were made of dressed deer skin. They were mostly
made of a single piece, with a gathering seam along the top of the foot,
and another from the bottom of the heel, without gathers, as high as the
ankle joint or a little higher. Flaps were left on each side to reach some
distance up the legs. These were nicely adapted to the ankles and lower
part of the leg by thongs of deerskin, so that no dust, gravel, or snow,
could get within the moccasin.

"The moccasins in ordinary use cost but a few hours labor to make them.
This was done by an instrument denominated a moccasin awl, which was made
of the back spring of an old clasp knife. This awl with its buck-horn
handle, was an appendage of every shot pouch strap, together with a roll
of buckskin for mending the moccasins. This was the labor of almost every
evening. They were sewed together and patched with deerskin thongs, or
whangs as they were commonly called.

"In cold weather the moccasins were well stuffed with deer's hair, or dry
leaves so as to keep the feet comfortably warm; but in wet weather it was
usually said that wearing them was 'a decent way of going barefooted;'
and such was the fact, owing to the spongy texture of the leather of which
they were made.

"Owing to this defective covering of the feet, more than to any other
circumstance, the greater number of our warriors and hunters were
afflicted with the rheumatism in their limbs. Of this disease they were
all apprehensive in cold or wet weather, and therefore always slept with
their feet to the fire to prevent or cure it as well as they could. This
practice unquestionably had a very salutary effect, and prevented many of
them from becoming confirmed cripples in early life.

"The fort consisted of cabins, blockhouses, and stockades. A range of
cabins commonly formed one side at least of a fort. Divisions, or
partitions of logs, separated the cabins from each other. The walls on the
outside were ten or twelve feet high, the slope of the roof being turned
wholly inward. A very few of these cabins had puncheon floors, the greater
part were earthen.

"The blockhouses were built at the angles of the fort. They projected
about two feet beyond the outer walls of the cabins and stockades. The
upper stories were about eighteen inches every way larger in dimension
than the under one, leaving an opening at the commencement of the second
story to prevent the enemy from making a lodgment under their walls. In
some forts instead of blockhouses, the angles of the fort were furnished
with bastions. A large folding gate, made of thick slabs nearest the
spring closed the fort. The stockades, bastions, cabins and blockhouse
walls were furnished with port holes at proper heights and distances. The
whole of the outside was made completely bullet proof.

"It may be truly said that necessity is the mother of invention; for the
whole of this work was made without the aid of a single nail or spike of
iron; and for this reason, such things were not to be had.

"In some places, less exposed, a single blockhouse, with a cabin or two,
constituted the whole fort.

"For a long time after the first settlement of this country, the
inhabitants in general married young. There was no distinction of rank,
and very little of fortune. On these accounts the first impression of love
resulted in marriage; and a family establishment cost but a little labor
and nothing else.

"In the first years of the settlement of this country, a wedding engaged
the attention of a whole neighborhood, and the frolic was anticipated by
old and young with eager expectation. This is not to be wondered at when
it is told that a wedding was almost the only gathering which was not
accompanied with the labor of reaping, log rolling, building a cabin or
planning some scout or campaign.

"In the morning of the wedding day, the groom and his attendants assembled
at the house of his father for the purpose of reaching the mansion of his
bride by noon, which was the usual time for celebrating the nuptials;
which for certain must take place before dinner.

"Let the reader imagine an assemblage of people, without a store, tailor,
or mantuamaker within a hundred miles; and an assemblage of horses,
without a blacksmith or saddler within an equal distance. The gentlemen
dressed in shoe-packs, moccasins, leather breeches, leggins, linsey
hunting shirts, and all homemade. The ladies dressed in linsey
petticoats, and linsey or linen bed gowns, coarse shoes, stockings,
handkerchiefs and buckskin gloves, if any. If there were any buckles,
rings, buttons or ruffles, they were the relics of old times, family
pieces from parents or grandparents. The horses are caparisoned with old
saddles, old bridles or halters, and pack-saddles, with a bag or blanket
thrown over them; a rope or string as often constituted the girth as a
piece of leather.

"The march in double file, was often interrupted by the narrowness and
obstructions of our horsepaths as they were called, for we had no roads:
and these difficulties were often increased, sometimes by the good and
sometimes by the ill will of neighbors, by falling trees and tying grape
vines across the way. Sometimes an ambuscade was formed by the wayside,
and an unexpected discharge of several guns took place, so as to cover the
wedding party with smoke. Let the reader imagine the scene which followed
this discharge: the sudden spring of the horses, the shrieks of the girls,
and the chivalric bustle of their partners to save them from falling.
Sometimes, in spite of all that could be done to prevent it, some were
thrown to the ground. If a wrist, elbow, or ankle happened to be sprained,
it was tied with a handkerchief, and little more was thought or said about
it.

Another ceremony commonly took place before the party reached the house of
the bride, after the practice of making whisky began, which was at an
early period; when the party were about a mile from the place of their
destination, two young men would single out to run for the bottle; the
worse the path, the more logs, brush, and deep hollows the better, as
these obstacles afforded an opportunity for the greater display of
intrepidity and horsemanship. The English fox chase, in point of danger to
the riders and their horses, is nothing to this race for the bottle. The
start was announced by an Indian yell; logs, brush, muddy hollows, hill
and glen, were speedily passed by the rival ponies. The bottle was always
filled for the occasion, so that there was no use for judges; for the
first who reached the door was presented with the prize, with which he
returned in triumph to the company. On approaching them he announced his
victory over his rival by a shrill whoop. At the head of the troop, he
gave the bottle first to the groom and his attendants, and then to each
pair in succession to the rear of the line, giving each a dram; and then
putting the bottle in the bosom of his hunting shirt, took his station in
the company.

The ceremony of the marriage preceded the dinner, which was a substantial
backwoods feast of beef, pork, fowls, and sometimes venison and bear meat,
roasted and boiled, with plenty of potatoes, cabbage, and other
vegetables. During the dinner the greatest hilarity always prevailed,
although the table might be a large slab of timber, hewed out with a
broad-axe, supported by four sticks set in auger holes, and the furniture
some old pewter dishes and plates, the rest wooden bowls and trenchers; a
few pewter spoons, much battered about the edges, were to be seen at some
tables. The rest were made of horn. If knives were scarce, the deficiency
was made up by the scalping knives which were carried in sheaths
suspended to the belt of the hunting shirt.

After dinner the dancing commenced, and generally lasted till the next
morning. The figures of the dances were three and four handed reels, or
square sets, and jigs. The commencement was always a square four, which
was followed by what was called jigging it off; that is, two of the four
would single out for a jig, and were followed by the remaining couple. The
jigs were often accompanied with what was called cutting out; that is,
when either of the parties became tired of the dance, on intimation the
place was supplied by some one of the company without any interruption of
the dance. In this way a dance was often continued till the musician was
heartily tired of his situation. Toward the latter part of the night, if
any of the company, through weariness, attempted to conceal themselves for
the purpose of sleeping, they were hunted up, paraded on the floor, and
the fiddler ordered to play "Hang on till tomorrow morning."

About nine or ten o'clock a deputation of the young ladies stole off the
bride and put her to bed. In doing this it frequently happened that they
had to ascend a ladder instead of a pair of stairs, leading from the
dining and ball room to the loft, the floor of which was made of
clapboards lying loose and without nails. This ascent, one might think,
would put the bride and her attendants to the blush; but as the foot of
the ladder was commonly behind the door, which was purposely opened for
the occasion, and its rounds at the inner ends were well hung with hunting
shirts, petticoats, and other articles of clothing, the candles being on
the opposite side of the house, the exit of the bride was noticed but by
few. This done, a deputation of young men in like manner stole off the
groom, and placed him snugly by the side of his bride. The dance still
continued; and if seats happened to be scarce, which was often the case,
every young man, when not engaged in the dance, was obliged to offer his
lap as a seat for one of the girls; and the offer was sure to be accepted.
In the midst of this hilarity the bride and groom were not forgotten.
Pretty late in the night some one would remind the company that the new
couple must stand in need of some refreshment; black Betty, which was the
name of the bottle, was called for, and sent up the ladder; but sometimes
black Betty did not go alone. I have many times seen as much bread, beef,
pork and cabbage sent along with her, as would afford a good meal for half
a dozen hungry men. The young couple were compelled to eat and drink more
or less of whatever was offered them.

It often happened that some neighbors or relatives, not being asked to the
wedding, took offense; and the mode of revenge adopted by them on such
occasions was that of cutting off the manes, foretops and tails of the
horses of the wedding company.

I will proceed to state the usual manner of settling a young couple in the
world.

A spot was selected on a piece of land of one of the parents, for their
habitation. A day was appointed, shortly after their marriage, for
commencing the work of building their cabin. The fatigue party consisted
of choppers, whose business it was to fell the trees and cut them off at
proper lengths; a man with a team for hauling them to the place and
arranging them, properly assorted, at the sides and ends of the building;
a carpenter, if such he might be called, whose business it was to search
the woods for a proper tree for making clapboards for the roof. The tree
for this purpose must be straight grained and from three to four feet in
diameter. The boards were split four feet long, with a large frow, and as
wide as the timber would allow. They were used without planeing or
shaving. Another division was employed in getting puncheons for the floor
of the cabin; this was done by splitting trees, about eighteen inches in
diameter, and hewing the faces of them with a broad-axe. They were half
the length of the floor they were intended to make.

The materials for the cabin were mostly prepared on the first day, and
sometimes the foundation laid in the evening. The second day was allotted
for the raising.

In the morning of the next day the neighbors collected for the raising.
The first thing to be done was the election of four corner men, whose
business it was to notch and place the logs. The rest of the company
furnished them with the timbers. In the mean time the boards and puncheons
were collecting for the floor and roof, so that by the time the cabin was
a few rounds high the sleepers and floor began to be laid. The door was
made by sawing or cutting the logs in one side so as to make an opening
about three feet wide. This opening was secured by upright pieces of
timber about three inches thick, through which holes were bored into the
ends of the logs for the purpose of pinning them fast. A similar opening
but wider was made at the end for the chimney. This was built of logs, and
made large to admit of a back and jams of stone. At the square, two end
logs projected a foot or eighteen inches beyond the wall to receive the
butting poles, as they were called, against which the ends of the first
row of clapboards was supported. The roof was formed by making the end log
shorter until a single log formed the comb of the roof; on these logs the
clapboards were placed, the ranges of them lapping some distance over
those next below them, and kept in their places by logs, placed at proper
distances upon them.

"The roof, and sometimes the floor, were finished on the same day of the
raising. A third day was commonly spent by a few carpenters in leveling
off the floor, making a clapboard door and table. This last was made of a
spilt slab, and supported by four round legs set in auger holes. Some
three legged stools were made in the same manner. Some pins stuck in the
logs at the back of the house supported some clapboards which served for
shelves for the table furniture. A single fork, placed with its lower end
in a hole in the floor, and the upper end fastened to a joist, served for
a bedstead, by placing a pole in the fork with one end through a crack
between the logs of the wall. This front pole was crossed by a shorter one
within the fork, with its outer end through another crack. From the front
pole, through a crack between the logs of the end of the house, the boards
were put on, which formed the bottom of the bed. Sometimes other poles,
were pinned to the fork a little distance above these, for the purpose of
supporting the front and foot of the bed, while the walls were the
supports of its back and head. A few pegs around the walls for a display
of the coats of the women, and hunting shirts of the men, and two small
forks or bucks' horns to a joist for the rifle and shot pouch, completed
the carpenter's work.

"The cabin being finished, the ceremony of house-warming took place,
before the young couple were permitted to move into it. The house-warming
was a dance of a whole night's continuance, made up of the relations of
the bride and groom, and their neighbors. On the day following the young
couple took possession of their new mansion."

This mansion, slight, inefficient and hastily erected as it was, must have
afforded but poor shelter against the severity of a season which is
everywhere referred to as one of the coldest ever known. It is asserted
that during the winter of 1779-80, still remembered by some as "_The Hard
Winter_," the wild animals were "starved and frozen in the forests, while
the domestic ones fared no better in the settlements." The rigors of the
season, however, did not prevent the influx of immigration; although
several families were compelled to endure its severity on their route
through the wilderness from Cumberland Gap, and were even delayed in their
march till the opening of the Spring. As soon however as the rivers were
freed from ice and the intense cold had yielded to the softer airs of the
new season, we hear of the arrival of no less than three hundred family
boats at the Falls. The causes which influenced so large an immigration
hither were various, not the least among them being the security insured
at this fort by the presence of Col. Clark. So entire and perfect had been
the success of this gallant officer in every expedition, even against the
most fearful odds, that to be under his command had come to be reckoned as
holding a place among the Invincibles. Let the circumstances be what they
might, it is certain that Louisville with her then population of six
hundred souls, was growing to be a place worthy of high consideration, and
accordingly we find that in May of this year (1780) the legislature of
Virginia passed the following

"_Act for establishing the town of Louisville at the Falls of Ohio._"

"Whereas, sundry inhabitants of the county of Kentucky have, at great
expense and hazard, settled themselves upon certain lands at the falls of
Ohio, said to be the property of John Conally, and have laid off a
considerable part thereof into half acre lots for a town, and having
settled thereon, have prefered petitions to this general assembly to
establish the said town, _Be it therefore enacted_, That one thousand
acres of land, being the forfeited property of said John Conally,
adjoining to the lands of John Campbell and ---- Taylor, be, and the same
is hereby vested in John Todd Jr., Stephen Trigg, George Slaughter, John
Floyd, William Pope, George Merriweather, Andrew Hines, James Sullivan and
Marshall Brashiers, gentlemen, trustees, to be by them or any four of them
laid off into lots of an half acre each, with convenient streets and
public lots, which shall be, and the same is hereby established a town by
the name of Louisville. _And be it further enacted_, That after the said
lands shall be laid off into lots and streets, the said trustees or any
four of them, shall proceed to sell the said lots, or so many of them as
they shall judge expedient, at public auction, for the best price that can
be had, the time and place of sale being advertised two months, at the
court houses of adjacent counties; the purchasers respectively to hold
their said lots subject to the condition of building on each a dwelling
house, sixteen feet by twenty at least, with a brick or stone chimney, to
be finished within two years from the day of sale. And the said trustees
or any four of them shall and they are hereby empowered to convey the said
lots to the purchasers thereof in fee simple, subject to the condition
aforesaid, on payment of the money arising from such sale to the said
trustees for the uses hereafter mentioned, that is to say: If the money
arising from such sale shall amount to Thirty Dollars per acre, the whole
shall be paid by the said trustees into the treasury of this commonwealth,
and the overplus, if any, shall be lodged with the court of the county of
Jefferson to enable them to defray the expenses of erecting the publick
buildings of the said county. _Provided_, That the owners of lots already
drawn shall be entitled to the preference therein, upon paying to the
trustees the sum of thirty dollars for such half acre lot, and shall be
thereafter subject to the same obligations of settling as other lot
holders within the said town. _And be it further enacted_, That the said
trustees or the major part of them shall have power, from time to time, to
settle and determine all disputes concerning the bounds of the said lots,
to settle such rules and orders for the regular building thereon as to
them shall seem best and most convenient. And in case of death or removal
from the county of any of the said trustees, the remaining trustees shall
supply such vacancies by electing of others from time to time, who shall
be vested with the same powers as those already mentioned.--_And be it
further enacted_, That the purchasers of the lots in the said town, so
soon as they shall have saved the same according to their respective deeds
of conveyance, shall have and enjoy all the rights, privileges and
immunities, which the freeholders and inhabitants of other towns in this
state, not incorporated by charter, have, hold and enjoy.

"_And be it further enacted_, That if the purchaser of any lot shall fail
to build thereon within the time before limited, the said trustees or a
major part of them, may thereupon enter into such lot, and may either sell
the same again and apply the money towards repairing the streets, or in
any other way for the benefit of the said town, or appropriate such lot to
publick uses for the benefit of said town. _Provided_, That nothing herein
contained shall extend to affect or injure the title of lands claimed by
John Campbell, gentleman, or those persons whose lots have been laid off
on his lands, but their titles be and remain suspended until the said John
Campbell shall be released from his captivity."[1]

The survey of the town under this act, as also the second survey made by
Peyton and Sullivan, have been in some unaccountable manner destroyed. It
is believed, however, that the spirit of these surveys is preserved in
Jared Brooke's plat, which was adopted in 1812. Previous to this the
absence of any official document of this kind produced much annoyance,
dispute and litigation, in regard to titles and boundaries. The out
courses of this survey, as represented by Dr. McMurtrie, are "from 35
poles above the mouth of Beargrass Creek, on the bank of the Ohio river,
S. 83, W. 35 poles to the mouth of the creek, thence N. 87, W. 120 poles,
N. 50, W. 110 poles to a heap of stones and a square hole cut in the flat
rock, thence (the division line) S. 88, E. 769 to a white oak, poplar and
beech, N. 37, W. 390 to the beginning; no variation." This was divided
into six streets, running East and West, and twelve streets crossing these
others at right angles. The squares so made were, up to Green Street,
divided into lots of a little more than half an acre, and South of that
into five, ten and twenty acre lots. In all the earlier proceedings of the
legislature in regard to the new town we find constant mention made of
public squares and grounds; and in the original plat, a slip of 180 feet
South of Green Street, and running from First to Twelfth Streets, was
reserved for a public promenade and pleasure ground. It is a matter of
great regret that this reservation was not really made. An immense common
like this, with the forest trees which were then upon it left standing,
would now be an invaluable addition to the town, and would enable us to
boast of having the most beautiful city in America. We cannot help but
wonder that the early inhabitants of the city should have permitted those
in authority to commit this gross outrage upon taste and propriety. Had
this slip continued in reserve, how beautiful might it now have become! As
taste, aided by wealth, began to have its hold among the citizens, it
would have been upon the fronts of this great artery that those beautiful
churches, public buildings and dwellings, now scattered over so large a
space, would have been erected. Here for a distance of more than a mile
would have been placed a continuous range of palace-like structures; and
here, under the shade of trees "the growth of quite a century" would the
gay, the brave and the fair have sat, walked or rode. What a picture would
have been presented here on a midsummer night, or at the close of an
autumn day! Groups of merry children disporting around, gaily dressed
ladies and dashing beaux, a throng of proud equipages and horsemen, the
sound of the infant's prattle, girlhood's ringing laugh, the mingling of
joyous voices, and above all and beyond all the tall and sombre forms of
majestic trees raised in relief against the sky, the green carpeted earth
and smiling little flowers, and all this in the very heart of a great
city--all forms a picture upon which the fancy loves to dwell, and a
picture which might readily have been realized had not that inordinate and
purely American worship of Gain blotted it from the canvass almost before
the designer had expressed it with his pencil.

Nor was a flagrant want of taste the worst feature in this. The whole of
the present site of the city at that early day was intersected with ponds
of stagnant water. The second bank had something of a descent towards the
interior, and the soil, though alluvious, was of sufficient tenacity to
retain the water which fell in rain. The result was that the whole of this
valley from Beargrass to Salt river was filled with these ponds; and, as a
necessary consequence, miasmata were bred, which produced a great deal of
sickness, more especially with strangers. So great indeed was the
influence thus induced that acclimation was then considered as necessary
here as it now is in New Orleans or on the coast of Africa. Many of the
present citizens of Louisville will be surprised to know that this very
city, now so celebrated for its healthiness as to make its salubrity an
inducement to immigration from all parts of the country, was once known as
"the Graveyard of the Ohio." The city worthies who took upon themselves to
sell "the Slip" in lots, had at that time no data to induce them to
believe in the future healthfulness of their place and yet they must have
perceived the increasing prosperity of the town; hence it became almost
criminal in them to put away what then seemed the only barrier to disease,
and almost to invite its approaches by allowing the city to be compactly
built without room for the pure and wholesome circulation of air, but
shutting up, as it were, disease and death within their very walls. As the
value of property began to increase, however, these gentlemen, actuated
only by a desire for present gain, put aside all these considerations and,
having divided the slip into four parts exposed it for sale. It comprised
all that part of the city now embraced between the north side of Green and
the south side of Grayson Streets, but extended, as before said, up to
First Street. It is true that great blame was attached to the trustees
for their action in this matter at the time, and some movement was made
toward trying to destroy the sale by legal means, this however was never
actually resorted to, and possession has long since confirmed the titles
to all lots lying within its limits. Thus was lost to the city one of the
most valuable, if not the very most valuable of all its possessions. The
earliest purchasers of this property were Messrs. Johnson, Croghan,
Anderson and Campbell.

As we have already referred to the numerous ponds scattered throughout the
city, it may not be improper at this point to recall the site of some of
them, if only to show how completely the natural disadvantages of the
place have been overcome by the energy of its inhabitants. The first and
most important of these was called the "Long Pond." It commenced at the
present corner of Sixth and Market Streets, and inclining a little toward
the South-West, extended as far as the old Hope Distillery, on or near
Sixteenth Streets. The indentation in the ground, still observable, in the
alley which commences at Seventh Street and lies between Market and
Jefferson Streets, was the former bed of this pond. In the winter, when it
was frozen over, this little lake was the scene of many a merry party. On
the moonlight evenings, numbers of ladies and gentlemen were to be seen
skimming over its surface, the gentlemen on skates and the ladies in
chairs, the backs of which were laid upon the ice and the chairs fastened
by ropes to the waists of the skaters. And thus they dashed along at
furious speed over the glassy surface; beaux and belles, with loud voices
and ringing laugh--and the merriment of the occasion was only increased
when some dashing fellow, in his endeavors to surpass in agility and
daring all his compeers, fell prostrate to the ice, or broke through it
into the water beneath.

The next in importance to the one above referred to, was known as
Gwathmey's or Grayson's Pond. It began on Centre Street just in the rear
of the First Presbyterian church, and extended Westwardly half way to
Seventh Street. Its form was that of a long elipse; and it was carefully
kept by its owners for fish.--Its margin was surrounded by lofty trees and
the turf grew to the very edge of the water, which, fed by some internal
spring, was always clear and pure. This pond was really a beautiful spot
and formed a delightful lounging-place for the idle or the meditative, and
one which neither of these classes neglected. It was the scene of all the
baptisms performed here in an early day, and no place could be better
adapted for this purpose. Its grassy edges afforded an agreeable
resting-place for the spectators, while its shape allowed every one to
see, hear and partake in the exercises.

Beside these two principal lakes, there were innumerable others, some
containing water only after heavy rains and others standing full at all
times. Market Street from the corner of Third down was the site of one of
these; Third Street between Jefferson and Green of another; Jefferson
Street near the corner of Fourth of another, and so on almost _ad
infinitum_. A map of the city as it was sixty or even thirty years ago,
would present somewhat the appearance of an archipelago, a sea full of
little islands. Whereas now, from the Woodland Garden to the foot of
Fifteenth Street, a distance of nearly three miles, not one of these lakes
is to be seen. It is not to be wondered at that, as the trees were removed
from the surface and the face of these ponds exposed to the burning sun,
they should spread the seeds of death all around them. As long as life was
precarious from a hundred other causes, this one remained unnoticed, but
as soon as the settlements began to be relieved from other fears for life
and property, this was taken up, and in 1805 the Legislature authorised
the Trustees to remove "those nuisances in such a manner as the majority
of them should prescribe." But the means in the treasury being incompetent
to this purpose, any efficient action in relation to it was delayed until
after the fearful epidemics of 1822 and 1823, of which we shall have
occasion to speak hereafter, when the Board of Health appointed to examine
into the causes of the diseases and the means of removing the same, urged
the prompt and immediate removal of these ponds. The Legislature during
the latter year also authorised the raising of $40,000 by lottery to be
applied to draining not only the ponds in Louisville, but also all those
between the town and the mouth of Salt River. Under this act these ponds
were drained, but those below the city were then left untouched. Many of
them however have been since removed under a recent renewal of the act.

But we have been led beyond the era of which we were speaking, and must
now return, in another chapter, to the history of the town from its
establishment by law in 1780.




CHAPTER II.


1780--During the same year in which the town was established Kentucky
received many valuable additions to its inhabitants; among these several
persons of wealth or of talent came from the Atlantic States to settle
among the "wild countries of the West," and they were accompanied by many
others without either of these requisites, ready at once to seek any and
every means of existence. Col. George Slaughter accompanied by 150 State
troops descended to the falls and took up his quarters there during this
year. This accession placed the inhabitants in comparative security, but
it was only comparative, for, emboldened by the knowledge that their
fortress was impregnable to the attacks of their foes, men became more
careless and unguarded, and the Indians were the very foe to take
advantage of this fancied security; so that, as the historian of the
period says, the very strength of the settlement and the security of its
inhabitants "had the effect of apparently drawing the Indians into that
quarter." The fact, too, that the Ohio formed the natural boundary
separating friend and foe was advantageous to the Indians. "They could
approach its banks upon their own ground; they might cross it when
convenient, reach the settlement, strike a blow and recross the river
before a party could be collected or brought to pursue them. The river
always presented an object of difficulty and very often an insuperable
obstacle to further pursuit. In this state of things it is no matter of
surprise that soldiers were shot near the fort, or that in the settlements
of Beargrass lives were lost, prisoners taken and horses stolen, with
frequent impunity, or but sometimes retaliated."[2] Connected with these
predatory incursions of the Indians, a great many wonderful stories are
told of "hair-breadth 'scapes by field and flood." Histories of incidents
in the Indian wars are, however, so similar in their character and so
often told and widely known that we shall limit ourselves to the relation
of only those that seem in their nature to demand admission here. The
first of these presents one of those rare instances of magnanimity and
true heroism that ever demands the attention of the chronicler. The
station where Shelbyville now stands was a weak and inefficient one, and
becoming alarmed by the presence of Indians in their vicinity, its
inhabitants determined to remove to Beargrass. In this attempted
emigration, however, they were attacked by their foes near Floyd's Fork,
defeated and scattered. Col. John Floyd, hearing of this, immediately
started to their relief. In his party was Capt. Samuel Wells who had been
on very unfriendly and even inimical terms with his superior officer.
Arrived near the point, Col. Floyd separated his men and cautiously
approached the enemy. But despite his skill and caution, he fell into an
ambuscade and was in his turn defeated with great loss. He himself must
have fallen into the hands of the victors but for the magnanimity of
Wells. Floyd had dismounted and was nearly exhausted, being closely
pursued, when Wells, who had not quitted his horse, rode up and
dismounting, helped his old enemy into the saddle and running by his side,
supported and protected him till out of the reach of danger. This noble
and generous action resulted in the fast and lasting friendship of the two
men.

Another incident will show the education, even in boyhood, which the
nature of the times demanded. Four young lads, two of them named Linn,
accompanied by Wells and Brashears, went on a hunting party to a pond
about six miles South-West of Louisville. They succeeded well in their
sport, having killed among other game, a small cub bear. While they were
assisting the elder Linn to strap the bear on his shoulders, and had laid
down their guns, they were surprised by a party of Indians, and hurried
over to the White river towns, where they remained in captivity several
months. One of the party had in the mean time been carried to another
town; and late in the fall the remaining three determined to effect their
escape. When night had come, they rose quietly, and having stunned the old
squaw, in whose hut they were living, by repeated blows with a small axe,
they stole out of the lodge and started for Louisville. After daybreak,
they concealed themselves in a hollow log, where they were frequently
passed by the Indians who were near them everywhere; and at night they
resumed their march, guided only by the stars and their knowledge of
woodcraft. After several days, during which they subsisted on the game
they could procure, they reached the river at Jeffersonville. Arrived
here they halooed for their friends, but did not succeed in making
themselves heard. They had however no time to lose; the Indians were
behind them and if they were retaken, they knew their doom. Accordingly,
as two of them could not swim, they constructed a raft of the drift-logs
about the shore and tied it together with grape vines, and the two
launched upon it, while Brashears plunged into the water, pushing the raft
with one hand and swimming with the other. Before they had arrived at the
other shore, and when their raft was in a sinking condition from having
taken up so much water, they were descried from this side, and boats went
out and returned them safely to their friends.[3]

Only a few months ago, some gentlemen traveling near the south-eastern
boundary of the city, discovered in an old tree the name of _D. Boone_ and
the date 1779, appended. Considering this a great curiosity, one of them
removed it from the tree and attempted to confirm the authenticity of the
date by counting the circles in the wood of the tree. Finding these to
agree with the date marked, he carefully preserved the block containing
this record, which is now to be seen in the library of the Kentucky
Historical Society. This circumstance is mentioned here only still further
to confirm the authenticity of this block by stating a similar case which
occurred in 1811. In the spring of 1779, Squire Boone, the brother of
Daniel, in company with two others, went from the falls to Bullitt's Lick
to shoot buffalo. After finishing their sport, they were returning home,
when night overtook them at Stewart's Spring. The young men proposed to
remain here for the night, but Boone objected, fearing an attack from the
Indians. They accordingly turned off some 300 yards to the West, where
they encamped for the night. There, while Boone and another of the party
were arranging for the encampment, the third, being idle, amused himself
by cutting a name and a few words on the bark of the tree. Afterwards, in
1811, during some legal investigation about lands, Boone testified to the
existence of these marks near Stewart's Spring, and upon examination they
were found just as he had stated, although 32 years had elapsed since the
cut was made. This fact is placed upon record in the Court of Appeals and
does not admit of a doubt. The instance before referred to is of a
precisely similar character, and the marks are probably equally authentic
as those of the last.

It would be easy to relate numerous instances, similar to those already
given, both as to the wonderful skill of the pioneers in woodcraft, and
their daring, danger and miraculous escapes in the Indian fights, but, as
has already been said, these anecdotes, often incorrect, and always
difficult to narrate without embellishment, are so familiar to the
majority of readers, and possess such similarity of outline that they
would be interesting here only to those who have some personal knowledge
of the actors in those scenes. There will be occasion hereafter, in
speaking of some of the distinguished men of another period of this
history, to refer again to subjects kindred to those above narrated.

In May of this year, still 1780, the Legislature of Virginia, on account
of the difficulties attending the proper administration of justice, and
for other similar causes occasioned by the sparseness of the settlements
in so large an extent of territory, passed an act dividing the county of
Kentucky into three counties. Of these, the first was thus defined: "All
that part of the South side of the Kentucky river which lies West and
North of a line beginning at the mouth of Benson's Big Creek and running
up the same and its main fork to the head, thence South to the nearest
waters of Hammond's Creek, and down the same to its junction with the town
fork of Salt river, thence South to Green river and down the same to its
junction with the Ohio;" and was ordered to be known by the name of
Jefferson. The other two counties were called Fayette and Lincoln.

Beside this there were few occurrences worthy of note during the year,
which bear directly upon the subject of this history. Col. Clark had not
only made his successful expedition against Pickway, but had built Fort
Jefferson, five miles below the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers and in the territory of the Chickasaws, thus adding that tribe to
the already numerous foes of his adopted State. It was however soon
evacuated and this evacuation accepted and acted upon by both parties as a
tacit treaty of peace.

Early in the next year--1781--Col. Clark received his commission as
Brigadier General. He now began to feel the necessity for some new display
of activity in defending the frontier and accordingly he built a sort of
row-galley upon which he placed some four-pound cannon. This galley was
kept plying between the Falls and the mouth of Licking, and is by some
believed to have been of very great service in keeping off the attacks of
the Indians; while others are of opinion that it was entirely valueless.
Be that as it may; the galley was abandoned by the General before the
close of the year. The Indians are said never to have attacked it and but
seldom to have crossed that part of the river in which it moved. Various
as are the opinions in regard to the utility of Clark's barge, the fact of
its having been so soon abandoned by the very projectors of the enterprise
certainly does not speak much in its favor.

Another of the most important features of this year, perhaps indeed the
very most important, was one which will now produce a smile. At that time,
however, it was a subject of serious congratulation to the inhabitants of
the new country. This was no less than the large immigration of young
unmarried women into this region, abounding in young unmarried men. One of
the historians of the time, in chronicling this event, remarks, with all
the soberness and propriety due to the most solemn subject, that "the
necessary consequence of this large influx of girls was the rapid and
wonderful increase of population." Whether this increase was produced by
purely natural means or by foreign immigration is left by him in the
profoundest doubt. Perhaps that worthy individual known as "The Oldest
Inhabitant" could elucidate this point.

The only other circumstance worthy of notice during the year, was the
building at the falls of a new fort. History gives us no information
either as to the name or location of this position of defense. Its very
name and history is swallowed up in that of Fort Nelson which must have
been built very soon after, if it was not commenced at the same time as
this nameless fort.

Fort Nelson was built in 1782 by the regular troops, assisted by all the
militia of the State. It was situated between Sixth and Eighth Streets on
the North side of Main, immediately upon the "second bank" of the river.
Its name was derived, as some say from Capt. Nelson, an influential
citizen of Louisville in that day, but more probably was named in honor of
the third republican governor of Virginia. It contained about an acre of
ground and was surrounded by a ditch eight feet wide and ten feet deep,
intersected in the middle by a sharp row of pickets. This ditch was
surmounted by a breast work of log pens filled with the earth obtained
from the ditch, with pickets ten feet high planted on the top of the
breast work. Next to the river, pickets were deemed sufficient, aided by
the long slope of the bank. There was artillery likewise in the fort. Col.
Slaughter had brought with him several very small cannon, and Gen. Clark
had placed here a double fortified six-pounder, which he had captured at
Vincennes. This last piece played no inconsiderable part both in the
previous and subsequent expeditions of this General. The present site of
Seventh Street passed directly through the gate of the fort opposite the
head quarters of Gen. Clark. The pickets and various other parts of this
fort have been from time to time, since 1830, dug up in excavating cellars
at the place formerly occupied by the post. Many of the pickets thus
excavated have been made into walking canes and are valued as memorials of
the past.

This year was perhaps one of the most disastrous and dreadful in the
annals of Kentucky. Although the settlements at the Falls were
comparatively free from danger of attack, yet the older stations were
suffering all the horrors of a bloody war. Several white men, impelled
either by a love of the licentiousness and freedom from restraint of the
savage life or by fear of punishment for their crimes, had united
themselves with the Indians and constantly urged them against the Whites.
The most celebrated of these were Girty and McKee, who had risen to a
commanding rank among the red men, and their knowledge of the settlements
enabled them to direct their new friends in all their expeditions.
Previous to the great battle in which these renegadoes figured so largely,
was the defeat and death of Captain Estill on Hinckston's Fork of Licking
and also a bloody fight at or near Hoy's station. The great battle of the
year however was at Blue Licks, and it was here that these renegadoes,
whose names deserve and will receive perpetual execration, were
successful. The result of this battle is well known to all readers of
western history. Its effect upon the inhabitants of the new State was
disheartening in the extreme. Gen. Clark, who was still at the Falls,
seeing the necessity for rousing the people from their despondence and
desirous of punishing the foe, proposed to a council of officers an
expedition against the Indian towns on Miami and Scioto. And accordingly
nearly one thousand men made rendezvous at the mouth of Licking and
started for the towns. The Indians discovered their approach too soon for
anything like a decisive battle, and they found only deserted towns and
straggling Indians on their march. The result of this invasion however
convinced both sides of the superiority of the Whites, and restored the
drooping spirits in the settlements. After this expedition the country
remained quiet during the year, nor did any considerable party of Indians
ever again invade the State.

In the winter of this year commenced the first of anything like
intercourse between this part of the Ohio and New Orleans. Messrs.
Tardiveau and Honore, the latter of whom resided in this city until within
a few years, made the earliest trip from Brownsville to that port, and
subsequently continued to make regular trips from Louisville to the French
and Spanish ports on the Mississippi. Even previous to this, Col. Richard
Taylor and his brother Hancock Taylor, had descended from Pittsburg to the
mouth of the Yazoo; and Messrs. Gibson and Linn, in 1776, had made a trip
from Pittsburg to New Orleans with a view to procuring military stores for
the troops stationed at the former place. These gentlemen succeeded in
their expedition, having obtained 156 kegs of powder, which arrived at the
Falls in 1777, was carried around them by hand, and finally delivered at
Pittsburg.

These early attempts at navigation were soon succeeded by the constant and
regular trips of the Barges. Perhaps the most stirring and exciting scenes
of western adventure were connected with the voyages of these peculiar
craft. The bargemen were a distinct class of people whose fearlessness of
character, recklessness of habits and laxity of morals rendered them a
marked people. Their history will hereafter form the groundwork of many a
heroic romance or epic poem. In the earlier stages of this sort of
navigation, their trips were dangerous, not only on account of the Indians
whose hunting-grounds bounded their track on either side, but also because
the shores of both rivers were infested with organized banditti, who
sought every occasion to rob and murder the owners of these boats. Beside
all this the Spanish Government had forbidden the navigation of the lower
Mississippi by the Americans, and thus, hedged in every way by danger, it
became these boatmen to cultivate all the hardihood and wiliness of the
Pioneer, while it led them also into the possession of that recklessness
and independent freedom of manner, which even after the causes that
produced it had ceased, still clung to and formed an integral part of the
character of the Western Bargeman. It is a matter of no little surprise
that something like an authentic history of these wonderful men has never
been written. Certainly it is desirable to preserve such a history, and no
book could have been undertaken which would be likely to produce more both
of pleasure and profit to the writer and none which would meet with a
larger circle of delighted readers. The traditions on the subject are,
even at this recent period, so vague and contradictory that it would be
difficult to procure anything like reliable or authentic data in regard to
them. No story in which the bargemen figure is too improbable to be
narrated, nor can one determine what particular person is the hero of an
incident which is in turn laid at the door of each distinguished member of
the whole fraternity. Some of these incidents however will serve so well
to give an idea of the peculiar characteristics of the bargemen, and
possess so much merit in themselves, that they cannot be omitted here.
Previous to referring to any of these anecdotes, however, it may be
interesting to introduce the following excellent description of the manner
of navigating the Ohio and Mississippi prior to the introduction of
steamboats. It is from the pen of Audubon, the celebrated ornithologist,
whose death has been recently announced and has caused a feeling of deep
regret in all who know how to admire that union of simple goodness of
character with greatness of mind and untiring energy of study, which he,
perhaps more than any other American, possessed.

"The keelboats and barges were employed," says this extract, "in conveying
produce of different kinds, such as lead, flour, pork and other articles.
These returned laden with sugar, coffee and dry goods, suited for the
markets of Genevieve and St. Louis on the upper Mississippi or branched
off and ascended the Ohio to the foot of the falls at Louisville. A
keelboat was generally manned by ten hands, principally Canadian French,
and a patroon or master. These boats seldom carried more than from twenty
to thirty tons. The barges had frequently forty or fifty men, with a
patroon, and carried fifty or sixty tons. Both these kind of vessels were
provided with a mast, a square sail, and coils of cordage known by the
name of cordelles. Each boat or barge carried its own provisions. We shall
suppose one of these boats under way, and, having passed Natchez, entering
upon what were called the difficulties of their ascent. Wherever a point
projected so as to render the course or bend below it of some magnitude,
there was an eddy, the returning current of which was sometimes as strong
as that of the middle of the great stream. The bargemen, therefore, rowed
up pretty close under the bank, and had merely to keep watch in the bow
lest the boat should run against a planter or sawyer. But the boat has
reached the point, and there the current is to all appearance of double
strength and right against it. The men, who have rested a few minutes, are
ordered to take their stations and lay hold of their oars, for the river
must be crossed, it being seldom possible to double such a point and
proceed along the same shore. The boat is crossing, its head slanting to
the current, which is, however, too strong for the rowers, and when the
other side of the river has been reached, it has drifted perhaps a quarter
of a mile. The men are by this time exhausted, and, as we shall suppose it
to be 12 o'clock, fasten the boat to a tree on the shore. A small glass of
whiskey is given to each, when they cook and eat their dinner, and after
resting from their fatigue for an hour, re-commence their labors. The boat
is again seen slowly advancing against the stream. It has reached the
lower end of a sandbar, along the edge of which it is propelled by means
of long poles, if the bottom be hard. Two men, called bowsmen, remain at
the prow to assist, in concert with the steersman, in managing the boat
and keeping its head right against the current. The rest place themselves
on the land side of the footway of the vessel, put one end of their poles
on the ground and the other against their shoulders and push with all
their might. As each of the men reaches the stern, he crosses to the other
side, runs along it and comes again to the landward side of the bow, when
he re-commences operations. The barge in the mean time is ascending at a
rate not exceeding one mile in the hour.

"The bar is at length passed, and as the shore in sight is straight on
both sides and the current uniformly strong, the poles are laid aside, and
the men being equally divided, those on the river side take to their oars,
while those on the land-side lay hold of the branches of willows or other
trees, and thus slowly propel the boat. Here and there, however, the trunk
of a fallen tree, partly lying on the bank and partly projecting beyond
it, impedes their progress and requires to be doubled. This is performed
by striking into it the iron points of the poles and gaff-hooks, and so
pulling around it. The sun is now quite low, and the barge is again
secured in the best harbor within reach for the night, after having
accomplished a distance of perhaps fifteen miles. The next day the wind
proves favorable, the sail is set, the boat takes all advantages, and,
meeting with no accident, has ascended thirty miles--perhaps double that
distance. The next day comes with a very different aspect. The wind is
right ahead, the shores are without trees of any kind, and the canes on
the bank are so thick and stout that not even the cordelles can be used.
This occasions a halt. The time is not altogether lost, as most of the
men, being provided with rifles, betake themselves to the woods and search
for the deer, the bears or the turkeys that are generally abundant there.
Three days may pass before the wind changes, and the advantages gained on
the previous five days are forgotten. Again the boat proceeds, but in
passing over a shallow place, runs on a log, swings with the current, but
hangs fast with her lea-side almost under water. Now for the poles! all
hands are on deck, bustling and pushing. At length, towards sunset, the
boat is once more afloat, and is again taken to the shore where the
wearied crew pass another night.

"I could tell you of the crew abandoning the boat and cargo and of
numberless accidents and perils, but be it enough to say, that advancing
in this tardy manner, the boat that left New Orleans on the 1st of March,
often did not reach the Falls of Ohio until the month of July, sometimes
not until October; and after all this immense trouble, it brought only a
few bags of coffee and at most one hundred hogsheads of sugar. Such was
the state of things as late as 1808. The number of barges at that period
did not amount to more than 25 or 30, and the largest probably did not
exceed one hundred tons burden. To make the best of this fatiguing
navigation, I may conclude by saying that a barge which came up in three
months, had done wonders, for I believe few voyages were performed in that
time."

In this little history, Mr. Audubon has said nothing of what was by far
the most "dangerous danger" to which the crews of these craft were
exposed. This was the attack, open and fearless as well as sneaking and
treacherous, of the Boatwreckers. The country on both sides of the river
from Louisville to the mouth of the Ohio was an almost unpeopled
wilderness. On the north side of the river from Fort Massac to the
Mississippi, there lived a gang of these desperadoes, whose exploits need
only the genius of a Schiller to render them the wonder of the world and
the admiration of those who love to gloat over tales of blood. There was
an impudence and recklessness of life and of danger connected with these
fellows, coupled with a dash of spirit and humor, that would render them
excellent _materiel_ in the hands of a skillful novelist; but they lacked
that high sense of honor and that gentlemanly bearing which made heroes of
the robbers of the Rhine, of Venice or of Mexico.

Their plan of action was to induce the crew of the passing "broad-horn" to
land, to play a game of cards, (the favorite passion of the boatmen) and
to cheat them unmercifully. If this scheme failed, they would pilot the
boats into a difficult place, or, in pretended friendship, give them from
the shores such directions as would not fail to run them on a snag or dash
them to pieces against some hidden obstruction. If they were outwitted in
all this, they would creep into the boats as they were tied up at night,
and bore holes in the bottom or dig out the caulking. When the boat was
sinking, they would get out their skiffs and craft of all kinds, and in
the most philanthropic manner come to save the goods from the wreck. And
save them they did, for they would row them up the little creeks that led
from swamps in the interior and no trace of them could afterwards be seen.
Or if some hardy fellow dared to go in pursuit of his _saved_ cargo, he
was sure to find an unknown grave in the morasses.

One of the most famous of these boatwreckers was Col. Fluger of New
Hampshire, who is better known in the West as Col. Plug. This worthy
gentleman long held undisputed sway over the quiet boatwreckers about the
mouth of Cash Creek. He was supposed to possess keys to every warehouse
between that place and Louisville, and to have used them for his own
private purposes on many occasions. He was a married man and became the
father of a family. His wife's soubriquet was Pluggy and like many others
of her sex, her charms were a sore affliction to the Colonel's peace of
mind. Plug's lieutenant was by him suspected of undue familiarity with
Mrs. Col. Plug. The Colonel's nice sense of honor was outraged, his family
pride aroused--he called Lieutenant Nine-Eyes to the field.

"Dern your soul," said he, "do you think this sort of candlestick ammer
(clandestine amour he meant,) will pass? If you do, by gosh, I will put it
to you or you shall put it to me."

They used rifles, the ground was measured, the affair settled in the most
proper and approved style. And they did put it to each other. Each
received a ball in some fleshy part, and each admitted that "he was
satisfied."

"You are all grit!" said Col. Plug.

"And you waded in like a raal Kaintuck," rejoined Nine-Eyes.

Col. Plug's son and heir, who very possibly was the real subject-matter of
dispute, and who was upon the ground, was ordered to place a bottle of
whisky midway between the disputants. Up to this they limped and over it
they embraced, swearing that "they were too well used to these things to
be phazed by a little cold lead;" and Pluggy's virtue having been thus
proved immaculate, the duel as well as the animosity of the parties
ceased. Col. Plug, man of honor as he was, sometimes met with very rough
treatment from the boatmen, whose half savage natures could ill appreciate
a gentleman of his birth and breeding. An instance of this is recorded by
the same historian upon whom we have drawn for the greater part of the
above account of the duel.[4] A broad-horn from Louisville had received
rough usage from Plug's men the year before, and accordingly, on their
next descent, they laid their scheme of revenge. Several of their crew
left the boat before arriving at Plug's domain, and quietly stole down the
river bank to its place of landing. The boat with its small crew was
quietly harbored, the men hospitably received and invited to sit down to a
game of cards. They were scarcely seated and had placed their money before
them, when Plug's signal whistle for an onset sounded in their ears. The
reserve corps of boatmen also heard it, knew its import and rushed to the
rescue. The battle was quickly over. Three of Plug's men were thrown into
the river and the rest fled, leaving their brave commander on the field.
Resistance did not avail him. Those ruthless boatmen stripped him to the
skin, and forcing him to embrace a sapling about the size of his dear
Pluggy's waist, they bound him immovably in this loving squeeze. Then
seizing the cowhide each applied it till he was tired, and so they left
him alone with his troublesome thoughts and with a yet more troublesome
and sanguinary host of musquitoes, which, lured by the ease with which
they could now get a full meal of that blood which had before been
effectually preserved from their attacks by a thick epidermis, sallied
forth to the feast by myriads. Pluggy, finding her bower lonely without
its lord, came forth to seek him. Closely embracing the tree and covered
from any immodest exposure of his person by a gauzy cloud of musquito
wings, she found him. Clasping her hands, with a Siddons-like start and
air, she cried, in her peculiarly elegant but somewhat un-English dialect:
"Yasu Cree! O carissimo sposo, what for, like von dem fool, you hug zat
tree and let ze marengoes eat up all your sweet brud?"

The historian is pained to record that all the answer she obtained to this
tender solicitude was a curse. Plug cursed her, but Plug's evil spirit was
aroused. Let the reader suppose himself in Plug's position and he will not
blame that gentleman for the ungenerous reply that forced itself to his
lips.

Not very long after this, Col. Plug came to his untimely end. Just as a
squall was coming up, Col. Plug was in a boat whose crew had left it for
an hour or so, engaged in the exercise of his profession; that is, he was
digging the caulking out of the bottom, when the squall came on rather
prematurely and broke the fastenings of the boat. It began to sink, and
Col. Plug after vain endeavors to reach the shore, sank with it and was
seen no more. Whether Pluggy still bewails her lost lord or has followed
him in sorrow to the other shore, history does not tell us.

This sketch of the character of the boat wreckers will prepare the reader
for forming some idea of the boatmen who were their prey. Among the most
celebrated of these, every reader of western history will at once
remember MIKE FINK, the hero of his class. So many and so marvellous are
the stories told of this man that numbers of persons are inclined
altogether to disbelieve his existence. That he did live however does not
admit of a doubt. Many are yet living who knew him personally. As it is to
him that all the more remarkable stories of western river adventure are
attributed, his history will form the only example here given to
illustrate the character of the western bargemen. It is however necessary
to observe, that while Mike possessed all the characteristics of his
class, a history of the various adventures attributed to him would present
these characteristics in an exaggerated degree. Even the slight sketch
here drawn cannot pretend to authenticity; for, aside from the fact, that,
like other heroes, Mike has suffered from the exuberant fancy of his
historians, he has also had in his own person to atone to posterity for
many acts which never came from under his hand and seal. As the
representative, however, of an extinct class of men, his ashes will not
rise in indignation even if he is again made the "hero of fields his valor
never won."

Mike Fink was born in or near Pittsburg, where certain of his relatives
still reside. In his earlier life he acted in the capacity of an Indian
spy, and won great renown for himself by the wonderful facility with
which, while yet a boy, he gained a knowledge of every act and movement of
the foe. But while in the exercise of this calling, the free, wild and
adventurous life of the boatmen attracted his youthful fancy, and the
enchanting music of the boat-horn soon lured him away from Pittsburg to
try his fortunes on the broad Ohio. He had learned to mimic all the tones
of the boatman's horn, and he longed to go to New Orleans where he heard
that the people spoke French and wore their Sunday clothes every day. He
went, and from an humble pupil in his profession soon became a glorious
master. When the river was too low to be navigable, Mike spent his time in
the practice of rifle-shooting, then so eminently useful and desirable an
accomplishment; and in this, as in all his serious undertakings, he soon
surpassed his compeers. His skill with the rifle was so universally
acknowledged, that whenever Mike was present at a Shooting-Match for Beef,
such as were then of common occurrence all over the country, he was always
allowed the fifth quarter, i. e. the hide and the tallow, without a shot.
This was a perquisite of Mike's skill, and one which he always claimed,
always obtained and always sold for whisky with which to "treat the
crowd." His capacity as a drinker was enormous; he could drink a gallon in
twenty-four hours without its effect being perceptible in his language or
demeanor. Mike was a bit of a wag, too, and had a singular way of
enforcing his jests. He used to say that he told his jokes on purpose to
be laughed at, and no man should "make light" of them. The consequence
was, that whoever had the temerity to refuse a laugh where Mike intended
to raise one, received a sound drubbing and an admonition for the future,
which was seldom neglected. His practical jokes, for so he and his
associates called their predations on the inhabitants of the shores along
which they passed, were always characterized by a boldness of design and a
sagacity of execution that showed no mean talent on Mike's part. One of
the most ingenious of these tricks, and one which affords a fair idea of
the spirit of them all, is told as follows: Passing slowly down the river,
Mike observed a very large and beautiful flock of sheep grazing on the
shore, and being in want of fresh provisions, but scorning to buy them,
Mike hit upon the following expedient. He noticed that there was an eddy
near to the shore, and, as it was about dusk, he landed his boat in the
eddy and tied her fast. In his cargo there were some bladders of
scotch-snuff. Mike opened one of these and taking out a handful of the
contents, he went ashore and catching five or six of the sheep, rubbed
their faces very thoroughly with the snuff. He then returned to his boat
and sent one of his men in a great hurry to the sheep-owner's house to
tell him that he "had better come down and see what was the matter with
his sheep." Upon coming down hastily in answer to Mike's summons, the
gentleman saw a portion of his flock very singularly affected; leaping,
bleating, rubbing their noses against the ground and against each other,
and performing all manner of undignified and unsheeplike antics. The
gentleman was sorely puzzled and demanded of Mike "if he knew what was the
matter with the sheep."

"You don't know?" answered Mike very gravely.

"I do not," replied the gentleman.

"Did you ever hear of the black murrain?" asked Mike in a confidential
whisper.

"Yes," said the sheep owner in a terrified reply.

"Well, that's it!" said Mike. "All the sheep up river's got it dreadful.
Dyin' like rotten dogs--hundreds a day."

"You don't say so," answered the victim, "and is there no cure for it?"

"Only one as I knows on," was the reply. "You see the murrain's dreadful
catchin', and ef you don't git them away as is got it, they'll kill the
whole flock. Better shoot 'em right-off; they've got to die any way."

"But no man could single out the infected sheep and shoot them from among
the flock," said the gentleman.

"My name's Mike Fink!" was the curt reply.

And it was answer enough. The gentleman begged Mike to shoot the infected
sheep and throw them into the river. This was exactly what Mike wanted,
but he pretended to resist. "It mought be a mistake," he said; "they'll
may be git well. He didn't like to shoot Manny's sheep on his own say so.
He'd better go an' ask some of the neighbors ef it was the murrain sure
'nuf." The gentleman insisted, and Mike modestly resisted, until finally
he was promised a couple of gallons of old Peach Brandy if he would
comply. His scruples thus finally overcome, Mike shot the sheep, threw
them into the eddy and got the brandy. After dark, the men jumped into the
water, hauled the sheep aboard, and by daylight had them neatly packed
away and were gliding merrily down the stream.[5]

Another story, of a rather different character, is told to illustrate the
recklessness of the man. It occurred on the Mississippi river. A negro had
come down to the bank to gaze at the passing boat, who had the singularly
projecting heel peculiar to some races of Africans. This peculiarity
caught Mike's eye, and so far outraged his ideas of symmetry that he
determined to correct it. Accordingly he raised his rifle to his shoulder
and fired, carrying away the offensive projection. The negro fell crying
murder, believing himself mortally wounded. Mike was apprehended for this
trick, at St. Louis, and found guilty, but we do not hear of the
infliction of any punishment. A writer in the Western Monthly Review for
July, 1829, in a letter to the editor of that magazine, asserts that he
has himself seen the records of this case in the books of the court, and
that Mike's only defense was that "the fellow couldn't wear a genteel boot
and he wanted to fix it so that he could."

One of his feats with the rifle which Mike most loved to boast of occurred
somewhere in Indiana. Mike's boat was lying to, from some cause, and he
had gone ashore in pursuit of game. "As he was creeping along with the
stealthy tread of a cat, his eye fell upon a beautiful buck, browsing on
the edge of a barren spot a little distance off. Repriming his gun and
picking his flint, Mike made his approach in his usual noiseless manner.
At the moment he reached the spot from which he meant to take aim, he
observed a large Indian intent upon the same object, advancing from a
direction little different from his own. Mike shrank behind a tree with
the quickness of thought, and keeping his eye fixed upon the hunter,
waited the result with patience. In a few moments the Indian halted within
fifty paces and leveled his piece at the deer. Instantly Mike presented
his rifle at the body of the savage, and at the moment smoke issued from
the gun of the latter, the bullet of Fink passed through the red man's
breast. He uttered a yell and fell dead at the same instant with the deer.
Mike re-loaded his rifle and remained in covert some minutes to ascertain
whether any more enemies were at hand. He then stepped up to the prostrate
savage, and having satisfied himself that life was extinct, turned his
attention to the buck, took from the carcass the pieces suited to jerking
and retraced his steps in high glee to the boat."[6] He used to say that
was what he called "killing two birds with one stone."

In all his little tricks, as Mike called them, he never displayed any very
accurate respect to the laws either of propriety or property, but he was
so ingenious in his predations that it is impossible not to laugh at his
crimes. The stern rigor of Justice, however, did not feel disposed to
laugh at Mike, but on the contrary offered a reward for his capture. For a
long time Mike fought shy and could not be taken, until an old friend of
his, who happened to be a constable, came to his boat when she was moored
at Louisville and represented to Mike the poverty of his family; and,
presuming on Mike's known kindness of disposition, urged him to allow
himself to be taken, and so procure for his friend the promised reward. He
showed Mike the many chances of escape from conviction, and withal plead
so strongly that Mike's kind heart at last overcame him and he
consented--_but upon one condition_! He felt at home nowhere but in his
boat and among his men: let them take him and his men in the yawl and
they would go. It was the only hope of procuring his appearance at court
and the constable consented. Accordingly a long-coupled wagon was
procured, and with oxen attached it went down the hill, at Third Street
for Mike's yawl. The road, for it was not then a street, was very steep
and very muddy at this point. Regardless of this, however, the boat was
set upon the wagon, and Mike and his men, with their long poles ready, as
if for an aquatic excursion, were put aboard, Mike in the stern. By dint
of laborious dragging the wagon had attained half the height of the hill,
when out shouted the stentorian voice of Mike calling to his men--SET
POLES!--and the end of every long pole was set firmly in the thick
mud--BACK HER!--roared Mike, and down the hill again went wagon, yawl, men
and oxen. Mike had been revolving the matter in his mind and had concluded
that it was best not to go; and well knowing that each of his men was
equal to a moderately strong ox, he had at once conceived and executed
this retrograde movement. Once at the bottom, another parley was held and
Mike was again overpowered. This time they had almost reached the top of
the hill, when _Set poles!--Back her!_ was again ordered and again
executed. A third attempt, however, was successful, and Mike reached the
court house in safety; and, as his friend, the constable, had endeavored
to induce him to believe, he was acquitted for lack of sufficient
evidence. Other indictments, however, were found against him, but Mike
preferred not to wait to hear them tried; so, at a given signal he and his
men boarded their craft again and stood ready to weigh anchor. The dread
of the long poles in the hands of Mike's men prevented the _posse_ from
urging any serious remonstrance against his departure. And off they
started with poles "tossed." As they left the court house yard Mike waved
his red bandanna, which he had fixed on one of the poles, and promising to
"_call again_" was borne back to his element and launched once more upon
the waters.

After the introduction of steamboats on the Western rivers, Mike's
occupation was gone. He could not consent, however, altogether to quit his
free, wild life of adventure; and accordingly in 1822, he, together with
Carpenter and Talbot, who were his firmest friends, joined Henry and
Ashley's company of Missouri trappers, and with this company they
proceeded in the same year up to the mouth of the Yellow Stone river. Here
a fort was built and from this point parties of hunters were sent out in
all directions. Mike with his two friends and nine others formed one of
these parties, and preferring to live to themselves, they dug a hole in
the river bluff and here spent the winter. While here, Mike Fink and
Carpenter had a fierce quarrel, caused probably by rivalry in the favors
of a certain squaw. Previous to this time the friendship of these two men
had been unbounded. Carpenter was equally as good a shot as Mike and it
had been their custom to place a tin cup of whisky on each other's head by
turns and shoot it off at the distance of seventy yards with their rifles.
This feat they had often performed and always successfully.

After the quarrel, and when spring had returned, they re-visited the fort
and over a cup of whisky they talked over their difficulty and rendered
their vows of amity, which were to be ratified by the usual trial of
shooting at the cup. They "skyed a copper" for the first shot and Mike won
it. Carpenter, who knew Mike thoroughly, declared he was going to be
killed, but scorned to refuse the test. He prepared himself for the worst.
He bequeathed his gun, pistols, wages, &c., to Talbot, in case he should
be killed. They went to the field, and while Mike loaded his gun and
prepared for the shot, Carpenter filled a tin cup to the brim, and,
without moving a feature, placed it on his devoted head. At this target
Mike levelled his piece. After fixing his aim, however, he took down his
gun, and laughingly cried, "Hold your noddle steady, Carpenter, and don't
spill the whisky, for I shall want some presently." Then raising his rifle
again, he pulled the trigger, and in an instant Carpenter fell and expired
without a groan. The ball had penetrated the center of his forehead about
an inch and a half above the eyes. Mike coolly set down his rifle and blew
the smoke out of it, keeping his eye fixed on the prostrate body of his
quondam friend. "Carpenter," said he, "have you spilt the whisky?" He was
told that he had killed Carpenter. "It is all an accident," said he, "I
took as fair a bead on the black spot on the cup as ever I took on a
squirrel's eye. How could it happen?" And he fell to cursing powder, gun,
bullet and himself.

In the wild country where they then were, the hand of justice could not
reach Mike and he went unmolested. But Talbot had determined to avenge
Carpenter, and one day, after several months had elapsed, when Mike, in a
drunken fit of boasting, swore in Talbot's presence that he had killed
Carpenter intentionally and that he was glad of it, Talbot drew out one of
the pistols which had been left him by the murdered man and shot Mike
through the heart. In less than four months after this Talbot was himself
drowned in attempting to swim the Titan river, and with him perished "the
last of the boatmen."

Mike Fink's person is thus described by the writer in the Western Monthly
before referred to. "His weight was about 180 pounds; height about five
feet, nine inches; broad, round face, pleasant features, brown skin,
tanned by sun and rain; blue, but very expressive eyes, inclining to grey;
broad, white teeth, and square brawny form, well proportioned; and every
muscle of the arms, thighs and legs, was fully developed, indicating the
greatest strength and activity. His person, taken altogether, was a model
for a Hercules, except as to size." Of his character, Mike has himself
given the best epitome. He used to say, "I can out-run, out-hop, out-jump,
throw down, drag out and lick any man in the country. I'm a Salt-river
roarer; I love the wimming and I'm chock full of fight."

The early history of steamboat navigation will appear in its proper
place.




CHAPTER III.


Having passed over these pleasant and exciting histories of personal
adventure, the reader now returns to the soberer chronicles of general
history. In the spring of 1783 it became known in Kentucky that peace had
been declared, and this joyous news could not have arrived at a more
opportune time. The people had been harrassed by war until they were sick
and disheartened, and although the news of peace did not drive off all
fear of attack from the Indians, yet the consciousness that the posts
formerly held by the British, which had been the chief depot of supplies
for the Indians, would now fall into the possession of their countrymen,
and consequently, that, although not yet arrived, the time would come when
even the Indian hostility would cease; all this put a new life into the
settlements of Kentucky.

Peace with Great Britain having been declared, the necessity for an army
on the borders of Virginia no longer existed; and as that State was
pressed for means, this army was disbanded, and the commission of Gen.
Clark withdrawn, with many thanks to this gentleman "for his very great
and singular services." This was soon followed by a much more substantial
testimony of the favor in which he was held by his native State, for
during the same year he and his soldiers received a grant of one hundred
and fifty thousand acres of land lying north of the Ohio, to be located
where they chose. They selected the region opposite to the falls, and thus
was founded the town of Clarksville, which still remains in a state
scarcely more improved than it then was.

Something like security and confidence was now established, and
consequently the immigration here was constant and large. Factories for
supplying the necessities of the household were established, schools were
opened, the products of the soil were carefully attended to, and abundant
crops were collected; several fields of wheat were gathered near
Louisville, and the whole country changed its character from that of a
series of military outposts to the more peaceful and more attractive one
of a newly settled, but rich and fruitful territory, where industry met
its reward, and where every one could live who was not too proud or too
indolent to work. It was during this year that a new era was opened to the
citizens of Louisville. A lot of merchandise, all the way from
Philadelphia, arrived at the falls, and Daniel Brodhead opened there a
retail store. The young ladies could now throw aside all the homely
products of their own looms, take the wooden skewers from their ill-bound
tresses, and, on festive occasions, shine in all the glories of flowered
calico and real horn combs. It is not known whether it was this worthy Mr.
Brodhead who was the first to introduce the luxury of glass window-lights,
but it is certain that previous to this time such an extravagance was
unknown; and there is an incident connected with the first window pane
which deserves a place here, and which is recorded in the words of an
author who is not more celebrated for his many public virtues, than for
his unceasing and incurable exercise of the private vice of punning. After
referring to the introduction of this innovation, this gentleman says: "A
young urchin who had seen glass spectacles on the noses of his elders, saw
this spectacle with astonishment, and running home to his mother
exclaimed, 'O, Ma! there's a house down here with specs on!" "This," he
adds, "may be considered a very precocious manifestation of the power of
generalization in the young Kentuckian."

Another curious incident of the times will close the record of this year.
The notorious Tom Paine had written a book ridiculing the right of
Virginia to this State, and urging Congress to take possession of the
whole territory. Among the disciples of this absurd production were two
Pennsylvanians, named Galloway and Pomeroy. The latter of these came to
the falls and produced considerable annoyance to some of the landholders
there by the dissemination of his doctrines, which induced others to pay
no respect to the titles of their neighbors. This was an exigency which
the laws had never contemplated, and although it was everywhere admitted
that the man deserved punishment, it was difficult to find a law bearing
upon his case. Legal investigation, however, soon drew to light an old law
of Virginia which enforced a penalty in tobacco upon "the propagation of
false news, to the disturbance of the good people of the colony." Under
this law, in May of the next year, Pomeroy was tried and sentenced to pay
2,000 pounds of tobacco, and had also to give security for his good
behavior in the sum of L3,000, pay costs, &c. A similar fate awaited
Galloway, who had gone to Lexington and had there advocated these same
doctrines. It was impossible for either of these men to procure the amount
of tobacco required; and accordingly, when it was hinted to them that they
would not be pursued if they left the country, they gladly embraced the
offer and departed. And thus perished the effects of Mr. Paine's wonderful
book.

The next year, 1784, does not present in its annals anything of much
importance in relation to Louisville. It was at this time that the first
convention was held at Danville, where the subject of the separation of
Kentucky and its erection into an independent State was first broached. It
was not, however, thought advisable by this convention to make any serious
movement in this matter until the following year, inasmuch as the people
generally had not heard of the proposed separation, or had had no time to
debate upon its feasibility. As yet no press had been established in the
territory, and oral news was not readily or speedily disseminated through
the State. On these accounts no action was had by the convention at this
time, but a new convention was appointed for the following May, at which
this subject was to be seriously considered.

We find by the report of a traveler in this year, that Louisville
contained "63 houses finished, 37 partly finished, 22 raised but not
covered, and more than 100 cabins."

In the year 1785 the convention again met, first on the 23d of May, and
afterwards on the 8th of August, to take action in relation to the
formation of the new State. An address to Virginia and another to
Kentucky, together with resolutions in favor of the proposed separation,
were unanimously passed in the earlier of these meetings. These addresses,
however, were not deemed strong enough by the third or August convention,
and that meeting accordingly changed them to a new and still stronger form
of petition or remonstrance, and sent them forward for the action of the
parent State. Accordingly in January of 1786, Virginia passed a law
allowing independence to Kentucky, on this, among other conditions, that
the separation should not take place until Congress should assent thereto,
which assent of Congress was not gained until 1791.

In January of this year the county of Nelson was erected out of all that
part of Jefferson county south of Salt river.

In the early part of 1785 Gen. Clark, together with Messrs. Lee and
Butler, had held a treaty with the Western Indians at Fort McIntosh; but
later in the year an Indian council of a hostile character had also been
held on the Wabash, and the Indians had annoyed the settlers greatly
during the latter part of the year. It was therefore thought advisable to
enter into another treaty with the Indians on the Wabash, and accordingly
Gen. Clark and Messrs. Butler and Parsons met those tribes at the mouth of
the Great Miami in January of 1786. It was with great difficulty that the
various tribes could be brought to treat at all, and, but for Gen. Clark's
knowledge of their character, and for the high estimation in which he was
held by them, these commissioners would have been murdered outright. Judge
Hall, of Cincinnati, has given a glowing and vivid description of this
meeting, which is here inserted. After noticing their abrupt and scornful
manner of entering the council, he says: "The commissioners, without
noticing the disorderly conduct of the other party, or appearing to have
discovered their meditated treachery, opened the council in due form. They
lighted the peace-pipe, and after drawing a few whiffs, passed it to the
chiefs, who received it. Col. Clark then rose to explain the purpose for
which the treaty was ordered. With an unembarrassed air, with the tone of
one accustomed to command, and an easy assurance of perfect security and
self-possession, he stated that the Commissioners had been sent to offer
peace to the Shawnees; that the President had no wish to continue the war;
he had no resentment to gratify; and, if the red men desired peace, they
could have it on reasonable terms. 'If such be the will of the Shawnees,'
he concluded, 'let some of their wise men speak.'

"A chief arose, drew up his tall person to its full height, and assuming a
haughty attitude, threw his eye contemptuously over the commissioners and
their small retinue, as if to measure their insignificance in comparison
with his own numerous train, and then stalking to the table, threw upon it
two belts of wampum, of different colors--the war and the peace belt.

"'We come here,' he exclaimed, 'to offer you two pieces of wampum; they
are of different colors; you know what they mean; you can take which you
like!' and turning upon his heel, he resumed his seat.

"The chiefs drew themselves up, in consciousness of having hurled defiance
in the teeth of the white men. They had offered an insult to the renowned
leader of the Long Knives, to which they knew it would be hard for him to
submit, while they did not suppose he dared resent it. The council-pipe
was laid aside. Those fierce wild men gazed intently at Clark. The
Americans saw that the crisis had arrived; they could no longer doubt that
the Indians understood the advantage they possessed, and were disposed to
use it; and a common sense of danger caused each eve to be turned on the
leading commissioner. He sat undisturbed and apparently careless until the
chief who had thrown the belts upon the table had taken his seat; then
with a small cane which he held in his hand, he reached, as if playfully,
toward the war belt, entangled the end of the stick in it, drew it towards
him, and then with a switch of the cane threw the belt into the midst of
the chiefs. The effect was electric. Every man in the council of each
party sprang to his feet, the savage with a loud exclamation of
astonishment, "Hugh!" the Americans in expectation of a hopeless conflict
against overwhelming numbers. Every hand grasped a weapon.

"Clark alone was unawed. The expression of his countenance changed to a
ferocious sternness and his eye flashed, but otherwise he was unmoved. A
bitter smile was perceptible upon his compressed lips as he gazed upon
that savage band, whose hundred eyes were bent fiercely and in horrid
exultation upon him as they stood like a pack of wolves at bay thirsting
for blood, and ready to rush upon him whenever one bolder than the rest
should commence the attack. It was one of those moments of indecision when
the slightest weight thrown into either scale will make it preponderate;
a moment in which a bold man conversant with the secret springs of human
action, may seize upon the minds of all around him and sway them at his
will.

"Such a man was the intrepid Virginian. He spoke, and there was no man
bold enough to gainsay him; none that could return the fierce glance of
his eye. Raising his arm and waving his hand toward the door, he
exclaimed, "_Dogs, Begone!_" The Indians hesitated for a moment, and then
rushed tumultuously out of the council-room." To this a writer of the
Encyclopaedia Americana adds that the Indians were heard all that night
debating in the bushes near the fort; a part of them for war and a part of
them for peace. The latter prevailed, and the next morning they came back
and sued for peace. All this, however, did not remove the annoyances
experienced from the attacks of the more distant Indians. These annoyances
were of such a character as to induce the general government to send two
companies of military to the Falls, to authorize the raising of militia in
Kentucky and the invasion of the hostile territory. In pursuance of the
spirit of this authority, if not in direct consonance with it, a body of a
thousand men had rendezvous at Louisville, and marched thence in September
toward Vincennes. At this point the little army waited, contrary to the
advice of Gen. Clark, their commanding officer, for nine days, expecting
provisions and ammunition. This delay was fatal. The soldiers became
weary, and seeing the frequent inebriety of their general, lost their
confidence in him, and refused their obedience. A body of about three
hundred, dissatisfied that their wishes in regard to their officers were
not attended to, actually returned homeward, regardless of the earnest
pleadings and almost the tears of their general; and the rest soon
followed them. This expedition was a sad blow to Clark, for it put into
the hands of his enemies a powerful weapon against him; and one which they
remorselessly used. Had his advice been heeded before the delay was
determined upon, he would never have become inebriated or exposed himself
in an undignified light to his soldiery, and the expedition might have
been successful. Palliated as may be his fault, it cannot be denied that,
in this sortie, he was not what he had been. The sun of his military glory
had not sunk below the horizon, but it was obscured by clouds whose thick
shadows promised long to hide its beams.

The troubles in relation to the navigation of the Mississippi river were
now the topics of all absorbing interest in every part of the West. We
have not before alluded to these troubles, preferring to connect them
entirely with the period of which we are now writing. A brief retrospect
of the question will enable the reader readily to understand the subject
in dispute and its bearing on the residents on the western waters. In
1781, Spain, having previously declared herself mistress of the Great
Mississippi, took possession of the North-West in the name of her king.
Mr. Jay, then in Madrid, had received instructions not to insist upon the
American claim to this river, if he could not effect a treaty without
yielding it. The Spanish Government, during the whole of 1782, was
laboring to induce the United States not only to yield the Mississippi,
but also to give up a part of her actual possessions in the West; and her
pretensions to these asserted rights were upheld by France. In this
condition matters rested till 1785, when a representative of the Spanish
Government appeared before Congress. Mr. Jay was at once authorized to
negociate with him, and these negociations came again before Congress in
May 1786; Mr. Jay having asked the guidance of that body in the matter. He
showed them the importance of a treaty in commerce with a people so
intimately connected with them as was Spain, and explained the difficulty
in forming this treaty, owing to the unwillingness of Spain either to
yield the river or to decrease her boundary claims. He could see no safer
plan than, as a sort of compromise, to yield for a term of twenty-five or
thirty years, the navigation of the river below the boundaries of the
United States. This plan was vehemently opposed by Southern Congressmen
and an attempt was made to take the negociations out of the hands of Mr.
Jay altogether. In this attempt they were defeated, and Mr. Jay was not
only retained in office, but was authorized to continue his negociations
without being bound to insist on the immediate use of the river. The rumor
of these movements at the capitol soon reached the West, but in the
distorted form which rumor ever employs. Mr. Jay's position was
represented as positive and as having been assumed without reference to
Congress. This news created great indignation in the West and led to the
first dream of secession. The people felt that if the navigation of the
Mississippi was denied them on the one hand, and in case of a quarrel
with Spain, the protection of the General Government on the other,
secession was inevitable. Either they must conquer Spain or unite with
her. And as if to show that they were in earnest in the matter, "a board
of field-officers at Vincennes determined to garrison that point, to raise
supplies by impressment, and to enlist new troops. Under this
determination Spanish property was seized, soldiers were enrolled, and
steps were taken to hold a peace-council with the natives; all under the
direction of Gen. Clark. Soon after this, Thomas Green wrote from
Louisville to the Governor and Legislature of Georgia, which State was
involved in the boundary quarrel with Spain, that Spanish property had
been seized in the North-West as a hostile measure, and not merely to
procure necessaries for the troops, which Clark afterward declared was the
case, and added that the General was ready to go down the river with
'troops sufficient' to take possession of the lands in dispute, if Georgia
would countenance him." The following extract from another letter written
from Louisville, professedly to some one in New England, and probably also
written by Green, will serve as additional evidence to prove that the
people were seriously deliberating upon their position. It reads thus:

"'Our situation is as bad as it possibly can be, therefore every exertion
to retrieve our circumstances must be manly, eligible and just.

"'We can raise 20,000 troops this side of the Alleghany and Apalachian
Mountains, and the annual increase of them by emigration from other parts
is from two to four thousand.

"'We have taken all the goods belonging to the Spanish merchants at post
Vincennes and the Illinois; and are determined they shall not trade up the
river, provided they will not let us trade down it. Preparations are now
making here (if necessary) to drive the Spaniards from their settlements,
at the mouth of the Mississippi. In case we are not countenanced or
succored by the United States, (if we need it,) our allegiance will be
thrown off and some other power applied to. Great Britain stands ready
with open arms to receive and support us. They have already offered to
open their resources for our supplies. When once re-united to them,
'farewell, a long farewell to all your boasted greatness.' The province of
Canada and the inhabitants of these waters, of themselves, in time, will
be able to conquer you. You are as ignorant of this country as Great
Britain was of America. These are hints which if rightly improved may be
of some service; if not, blame yourselves for the neglect.'

"This letter was shown by the bearer of it to several persons at Danville,
who caused copies to be taken of it, and enclosed these to the Executive
of Virginia. Early in 1787, the Council of this State had action on this
subject, condemned Gen. Clark's conduct, disavowed the powers assumed by
him, ordered the prosecution of the persons concerned in the seizure of
property, and laid the matter before Congress. It was presented in detail
to that body upon the 13th of April, and upon the 24th of that month, it
was resolved that the troops of the United States be employed to
dispossess the unauthorized intruders who had taken possession of St.
Vincents."[7]

The full details of the Mississippi troubles belong rather to a history of
the State or of the United States than to that of a single city. What has
already been stated in regard to them has been written to show the feeling
that existed on the subject among the earlier residents of the city and of
the State, as well as to display the part which was had in these
difficulties by the prominent men of Louisville years ago. It would be
foreign to the purposes of the present volume to go further into all these
details, wherein the celebrated names of Wilkinson, Sebastian, Brown,
Innis and Burr, are so involved, wherein so many splendid intellects were
led astray from the paths pointed out by honor and patriotism, and
sacrificed at the sordid shrine, of love of self and love of gain. Not to
leave the unhistorical reader without any knowledge as to the issue of
these troubles, it will however be necessary to point out as briefly as
may be, the ultimate results of all the scheming, plotting and unlawful
machinations against established government which for so long disturbed
and disgraced Kentucky.

Passing over, then, all the intermediate space, we come to the fact that
in 1795, a treaty was concluded with Spain by which not only the right to
navigate the Mississippi was conceded to the United States, but a right to
deposit at New Orleans was also yielded them. This, in effect, was all
that Kentucky needed. This grant of a right to deposit, however, was only
guaranteed by the treaty for three years; but with the proviso that,
should the grant be withdrawn at the end of the three years, some other
place than New Orleans should be afforded for the same purpose, near the
mouth of the river. In 1802 this right was withdrawn by the Spanish
Intendant and no other place of deposit allowed. Spain had evidently
violated her treaty, and the whole West was again thrown into a state of
fearful excitement and commotion. Nor was this at all lessened when it
became known that Louisiana had been ceded to France, and that it was now
in possession of the dreaded Napoleon. Mr. Monroe was immediately
dispatched to France to have an interview with the First Consul on this
subject. Napoleon, then upon the eve of a rupture with England, plainly
foresaw that it would be impossible for him to retain possession of so
distant and isolated a colony as Louisiana while Great Britain was
mistress of the seas. His sagacity had therefore determined him to get rid
of so unprofitable a place as this. And much to the surprise of Mr.
Monroe, "when he expected simply to negotiate for a place of deposite at
the mouth of the river, he was informed that for the trifling sum of
fifteen millions, he could purchase a magnificent empire. No time was lost
in closing this extraordinary sale, as Bonaparte evidently apprehended
that Louisiana would be taken by the British fleet within six months after
hostilities commenced. And thus the first great annexation of territory to
the United States was accomplished."[8] And thus ended a long series of
difficulties which had, in their course, blotted the escutcheon of
Kentucky and tempted so many of her noblest intellects to forget their
greatness in vain attempts at personal aggrandizement.

The following extracts from the records of the court during this year
will not give a very favorable idea of the high degree of enlightenment
among our ancestors in 1786. On the 21st day of October in this year, it
is recorded that "negro Tom, a slave, the property of Robert Daniel," was
condemned to death for stealing "two and three-fourth yards of cambric,
and some ribbon and thread, the property of Jas. Patten." This theft,
small as it now appears, if estimated in the currency of the times would
produce an astonishing sum, as will appear by the following inventory
rendered to the court of the property of a deceased person:

  To a coat and waistcoat L250; an old blue do. and do. L50     L300
  To pocket book L6; part of an old shirt L3                       9
  To old blanket 6s; 2 bushels salt L480                         480 6s.
                                                                --------
                                                                L789 6s.

These were the times when the price of whisky was fixed by law at $30 the
pint, and hotel-keepers were allowed and expected to charge $12 for a
breakfast and $6 for a bed. Payment however was always expected in the
depreciated continental money, then almost the only currency.

In the latter part of this year, the legislature of Virginia again passed
an act giving three years more time to the purchasers of lots in
Louisville to complete their titles by building houses in consonance with
the terms of the original purchase. The act offers as a reason for this
extension, "the frequent incursions of the Indians and the difficulty of
procuring materials for building."

In the next year--1787--a new feature was exhibited to the people of
Kentucky. Mr. John Bradford established at Lexington a weekly newspaper,
printed at first on a demy sheet and called the Kentucky Gazette. The
politicians of the State had now an opportunity to address themselves to
the people in a new and easy way, and they fully availed themselves of it.
But the establishment of a newspaper was not the only proof of advancement
among the Kentuckians, though it seemed the herald of progress; for, in
one year after the first issue of the Gazette, a grammar school was
opened, an almanac published, and a dancing school established, all in
Lexington; while still a year later (1789) the first brick house was built
in Louisville. This structure was erected by Mr. Kaye, an ancestor of our
well known citizen and former Mayor, on Market street, between Fifth and
Sixth streets; the second brick building in Louisville was erected by Mr.
Eastin, on the North side of Main, below the corner of Fifth street; and
the third by Mr. Reed at the North Western corner of Main and Sixth
streets. It was about this time that the present city of Cincinnati was
laid out. It was first called Losantiville, a name which is thus
fancifully derived. _Ville_--the town--_anti_--opposite--_os_--the
mouth--_L_--of Licking. This name was invented by a Mr. Filson, whose
philological acuteness deserves immortality.

The three years given to the owners of lots in Louisville by the Act of
'86, being now expired, the legislature again passed an act granting yet
other three years for the same purpose; and at the same time appointed
eleven new trustees for the town. The number of trustees was now so large
that it was neither agreeable to the citizens, nor did it facilitate the
business of the town. Accordingly the very next meeting of the Assembly
(in 1790) passed a new act with the following preamble:--"Whereas, It is
represented to this present General Assembly that inconveniences have
arisen on account of the powers given to the Trustees and Commissioners of
the Town of Louisville, in the County of Jefferson, not being sufficiently
defined, for remedy whereof, &c."--This Act deposed from office all the
former Trustees of the town, and in lieu of them, appointed the following
persons: "J. F. Moore, Abraham Hite, Abner M. Donne, Basil Prather and
David Standiford, gentlemen;" as sole Trustees, with power to sell and
convey lots, levy taxes, improve the town by means of taxes so levied, and
fill vacancies in their own body by election. Under their regime the
records of the council show quite an improvement in the prosperity of the
embryo city.

Early in April of the year now spoken of, Louisville received an accession
to the number of her citizens in the person of the renowned Major Quirey.
This man's immense muscular power; his daring and activity have made him a
scarcely less remarkable personage than was the celebrated Peter
Francisco, of Virginia. Arriving here at a period when physical power was
far more appreciated, and held in far higher reverence than mental
capacity, Quirey soon gained a strong hold on the affections of the people
around him. He was a native of Pennsylvania, but married at nineteen years
of age, and soon thereafter removed to Kentucky. He was six feet and two
inches in height, and weighed 250 pounds; he had no inclination to
embonpoint but was muscular and robust. The palm of his enormous hand
would easily have served a modern fine lady for a
writing-desk.--Physiologists may feel inclined to doubt the truth of the
assertion, but it is nevertheless confidently believed that his breast was
a solid plate of bone, no appearance of the usual separation of the ribs
being discernable, even after his death. Like all the men of his day,
Quirey was a good hater alike of Indians and of cowards. A proof of this
latter aversion occurred as he was descending the Ohio to Louisville. The
Indians had recently been very successful in their battles with the
emigrant boats, and were emboldened to attack all within their reach.
Accordingly, Quirey's boat, containing beside himself and his family, only
a single individual, whose name is not remembered, came in for its share
of the hostility. A large party of Indians made an attack upon them
somewhere above the present site of Maysville. Quirey fought bravely, but
the other man became dreadfully alarmed, and running into the boat,
concealed himself among the cargo. Quirey, still standing upon his boat,
received the guns as they were loaded by his wife, and handed to him, and
fired on either not missing his comrade or supposing him dead. After the
engagement, in which, despite the fearful odds, Quirey was victorious,
they found their trembling and cowardly companion who was slowly sneaking
from his place of concealment. With an impulse quick as thought, Quirey
seized him with one hand around the waist, and bearing him above his head,
would in another moment have dashed him into the waves, but the tears and
entreaties of Mrs. Quirey saved him for the time. With so cowardly a
disposition, however, it might have spared the poor wretch much agony had
he perished then; for Quirey set him ashore in the forest near Limestone,
pointing him the way to the fort and there left him, surrounded on every
side by objects to him of terror, there to "do or die." History is silent
as to his fate.

After reaching Louisville, Quirey soon established his reputation for
strength in a way that none dared gainsay it. One Peter Smith, who had
long held undisputed sway as the most expert fighter and the strongest man
in Louisville, and who was withal what is more pertinently than politely
called a _bully_, the terror of his whole neighborhood, having heard that
a very large and strong man had arrived from Pennsylvania, determined, as
he said, "either to whip Quirey, or if Quirey proved too much for him to
leave the country." He accordingly found his man, and proposed a trial at
a fisty-cuff. This Quirey declined, urging that it would be better for
them to turn their strength against the common enemy, and professing that
he was willing to admit Smith to be his superior. Finding that this only
made his antagonist the more determined, Quirey proposed a trial of skill
in lifting or in some athletic game. Smith, however, was not to be thus
appeased, but stripping the upper part of his body to the skin and
tightening his belt, he advanced urging Quirey to get ready for the fight.
Quirey replied that if he would have a fight, he was already prepared for
it--and as Smith continued to advance upon him, Quirey, without moving
from his steps, dealt him a single blow with open hand upon the ear. Smith
fell several paces off with the blood gushing from eyes, nose and ears.
But the trial did not end here, for on Smith's recovering from the blow,
he protested that it was an unlucky and accidental hit, and demanded a
new trial. Quirey again tried to avoid the quarrel, but seeing that a
fight was inevitable, he told Smith that if he made a new attack upon him,
he would be severely punished. Smith continued to advance toward him, and
as he came within reach Quirey dealt him at the same instant two terrible
blows, one with the hand and the other with the foot. Smith fell as if
dead, was taken up and carried to Patton's Tavern where he lay six weeks.
At the end of that time, being sufficiently recovered, he kept his
promise, leaving the State never to return.

Major Quirey was a valuable officer and a prompt and efficient soldier.
During the war, he enlisted about 6000 men. Soon after his appointment as
Captain in the 17th Regiment, U. S. A., an incident occurred which came
near consigning him to an inglorious death. He had as pets a pair of large
bears, and having occasion one day to pass near them he was suddenly
seized from behind by the male bear and drawn under him, the animal
sinking his nails into the cavity of the body. In the scuffle, however, he
managed to get hold of the tongue of the bear, and drawing it across its
teeth, forced the animal to bite off its own tongue. This feat he
performed with one hand, while with the other he relieved the bear of one
of his eyes. The pain he thus occasioned enabled him to extricate himself
from his formidable foe, not, however, without detriment to himself. The
Surgeon who dressed his wounds estimated his loss of flesh from off the
left hip at _nearly 12 pounds_![9] On recovering from his wounds, Quirey
returned to service and continued in office till the disbanding of his
Regiment in 1815. In two years afterward he died. His widow whose life is
full of romantic incident, survived him many years, having died only two
or three years ago. She is still remembered with regret by many who have
so lately listened to her well-told recollections of early days in
Louisville.

In July of this year, still 1790, the ninth and last Kentucky Convention
met. It will be recollected that the first Convention had been held in
1784, and since that time, each returning year had seemed only to add to
the difficulties experienced by Kentucky in attaining an honorable and
independent position in the confederacy. This last Convention, however,
saw an end to all the troubles experienced by its predecessors. The terms
offered by Virginia were agreed to, and the 1st June 1792, was determined
as the date of Independence. During the month of December succeeding the
action of this Convention, Gen. Washington brought before Congress the
subject of the admission of Kentucky as a State, and on the 14th of
February in the next year, 1791, the long sought and anxiously hoped-for
boon was granted. The ensuing December was chosen as the date of election
for the framers of a Constitution for the New State, and in April 1792,
that instrument was prepared, and Kentucky took her position among her
sister States. Nor was this the only good which time had wrought for the
new State. For the next year, 1793, brought with it the last incursions of
the Indians into their once loved hunting-ground. Their twenty years'
struggle was over. Their best and bravest blood had been poured in vain;
the force of an irresistible destiny was against them; stern experience
had taught them that right was not might, and, the contest ended, they
quietly yielded to the all-conquering hand of the white man the soil that
his axe, his plow, and his gun had redeemed from them forever.

The succeeding years, till 1800, however rich they may be in material for
the historian of Kentucky, afford little that bears directly upon the
subject before us. The Indians having ceased to be an aggressive foe, it
was thought necessary that the Whites should, in their turn, provoke
hostility, and accordingly, several expeditions were made against them.
The Indian fights of Scott, St. Clair, Wayne, and others, belong to this
period.

In 1796 the first paper-mill was built in Kentucky. It was situated near
Georgetown, and is said to have been a very productive investment. It is
here alluded to as a promising mark of social progress.

With the next year, 1797, we get the first clearly established estimate of
the town of Louisville. In the records of the Trustees, the first list of
taxes occurs. These were assessed on the 3d day of July, "on all who
reside within the limits of the half-acre lots," and one Dr. Hall, was
appointed to fill the double office of assessor and collector. The
following is his list of assessments:

  "50 Horses at 6d per head, is        L1  5s 0d.
  65 Negroes at 1s per head, is         3  5  0
  2 Billiard Tables at 20s each         2  0  0
  5 Tavern licenses at 6s each          1 10  0
  5 retail Stores at 10s each           2 10  0
  Carriages: 6 wheels at 2s per wheel     12  0
  Town Lots at 6d per L100 is           8 13  6
  80 Tithables at 3s each              12  0  0
                                       --------
      Making the startling total of   L31 15s 6d."

And even this sum Hall found it very difficult to collect, for, nearly two
years afterward he reports a list of delinquents amounting to L12. That
the progress of the town was rapid and healthy from the first year of
Kentucky Independence, is everywhere demonstrated. And no greater proof of
this is needed than the fact that while the assessment of 1797 amounted to
scarcely more than $150, that of 1809, 12 years later, reached the sum of
$991. The town was now clearly and firmly established, it had within
itself the elements of prosperity and it was seen that it must one day
become great. Its history is less identified with that of the State, and
it comes now to claim consideration on its own merit.

It was during this year that the office of Falls Pilot was created by law,
in consonance with the following preamble to the act: "Whereas great
inconveniences have been experienced and many boats lost in attempting to
pass the rapids of the Ohio for want of a Pilot, and from persons offering
their services to strangers to act as Pilots, by no means qualified for
this business," &c. The office was appointed by the Jefferson County
Court, and the rate of pilotage fixed by the act was two dollars for each
boat, while all other persons were forbidden to attempt to perform this
service under a penalty of ten dollars.

During the next year--1798--the Assembly passed an act allowing the
formation of fire companies by any number of persons exceeding forty, who
should record their names and subscriptions in the County Court. These
companies were allowed to form their own regulations, impose fines to the
amount of L5, and collect the same by suit before a single magistrate,
which fines were to be applied to the purposes of their institution.

Previous to this time there had existed no impediment to the clandestine
importation of goods by the way of Louisville; New Orleans being in
possession of a foreign nation. In 1799, therefore, Congress passed an act
by which Louisville was declared to be a port of entry, and a collector
was established at this point.

The history of Louisville has thus been brought up to a period when it
occupied a deservedly prominent position among western towns. Nature had
fitted it to take the first rank, and its rapid improvement demonstrated
its power and capacity to assume that position. Thirty years before the
time of which we are now writing, the compass of the white man for the
first time broke the soil of Kentucky; the spot whereon this great city
now rests was a trackless wilderness. The smooth waters of the broad Ohio
mirrored in their bosom only the dark branches of the waving forest. The
axe of the woodman had not yet awakened the echoes of the grove. The deer,
the bear and the buffalo by day, and the wolf and the panther by night
were the only inhabitants of the spot. Less than thirty years elapsed and
the wand of the magician had changed the scene. The forest had been
felled, the trowel of the builder had been wielded, the streets and alleys
of a civilized town occupied the spot where the deer had sported in frolic
play, and hundreds of merry voices shouted where only the howl of the wolf
had been heard. That a civilized town with a population of eight hundred
souls, governed by wise laws, possessing the usages of society, enjoying
the luxuries of life and moving onward in its daily walk with the calm
stability of its fellows, the growth of a century; that such a town should
exist where less than thirty years before the beast and the savage had
held undisputed sway, is surely an evidence of progress to which no other
country in the world can find a parallel. It is a fact before which the
wild romance of the Slave of Lamp almost ceases to be fiction.

Louisville having now arrived at an importance of its own, separate and
apart from the State, the remainder of this history will be more strictly
confined to matters of a purely local character. And beginning a new
chapter with a new century, the rest of these annals will be as rapidly
and strictly detailed as justice to the claims of each event will allow.




CHAPTER IV.


The opening of a new century found Louisville with a population of 800
souls, with power to elect her own Trustees, with a revenue arising from
her own taxes, and in the enjoyment of all the social and political
privileges which were possessed by any of the towns within the Western
country. Early in the next year the Legislature of the State, after
granting power to the Trustees of Louisville to make deeds and conveyances
of the town lots and providing abundantly for the levying and collecting
of taxes, proceeded to exempt the citizens from working on roads out of
the town, except the road leading from Louisville to the lower landing,
and ordered the appointment of a street Surveyor whose duty it should be
from time to time to call upon the inhabitants of the town "to meet
together on a certain day at a certain place for the purpose of working
upon the streets." And every person failing to obey such call was liable
to a fine of six shillings for every such failure. The same Act also set
aside the sum of twenty-five pounds (being part of the annual tax) to be
appropriated toward the building of a market house on the public ground in
said town, under the superintendence of the board of Trustees; and as if
still further to show its confidence in the capacity of the town to manage
its own growing interests, it also placed the harbor at the mouth of
Beargrass entirely under the direction of the Trustees.

Reference to the old books of the town show the prices of half acre lots
on the principal streets at this time to have ranged from seven to
fourteen hundred dollars.

The original plan and survey of the town having been lost or destroyed,
and property being rapidly increasing in value, the Legislature found it
necessary during the second year of the new century to order a new survey
and plat to be made out. It also changed the term of office of the
Trustees from one to two years, and gave them the power to fill vacancies
in their body by an election among themselves. It also repealed an act
which, although it had been the subject of repeated legislation, had
proved a dead letter. This was the act in reference to the forfeiture of
lots for want of improvements, which has been before quoted. The
Legislature of this year, seeing the futility of further action in regard
to this matter very properly ordered the act to be altogether repealed in
all the towns under their jurisdiction, and ordered the Trustees of the
several towns to make deeds to all purchasers of lots who could produce
them receipts for the purchase money of their several properties.

The next year brought with it a new act of assembly ordering a repeal of
the act of 1800 in relation to the building of a Market house on the
public grounds in Louisville. The reason of this repeal consisted in the
fact that public grounds were nowhere to be found, these valuable adjuncts
to the town having been already disposed of by the sagacious governors of
the place. Their unwise and illegal action in this matter has heretofore
occupied the attention of the reader. Their "worshipful wisdoms" thinking
only of to-day and careless of a future, were guilty of frequent
excessions of their duty, which are still felt and still regretted. A
striking instance of this is exemplified in the single fact that a half
acre lot on Main street, near Fourth, was disposed of by their order at
public auction for a horse valued at twenty dollars. This, however, may
cease to be thought so flagrant a breach of trust when it is compared with
another sale which occurred at or about the same time, whereto neither of
the parties occupied an official capacity and wherein the article sold,
though not generally classed as real estate, is supposed to possess great
value to the owner. A worthy citizen of Louisville about this period was
in the habit of entertaining a great deal of company; and among others
there came to his hospitable roof one who professed to be a Methodist
preacher, but who proved to be a wolf in sheep's clothing; for, after
enjoying all the comforts his host's kindness could afford him for several
weeks, he started off one fine summer's morning, taking with him, probably
through mistake or inadvertence, his _friend's wife_! The host missing
this article of domestic furniture upon his return home, and suspecting
whither it might have gone, put boot in stirrup and dashed off in pursuit.
He soon overtook the soi-disant Reverend Gentleman and demanded his
property. His right to take his own was not denied, but his Reverend
friend proposed that as he fancied the subject matter of dispute, if his
worthy host would withdraw his claim and leave him in peaceable
possession, he would give him right, title and interest to and in the mare
on which he rode. To this, after some slight hesitation, the husband
consented, on condition that the bridle and saddle of the mare were added
to his friend's offer. This trifling difference was readily yielded by the
opposite party, and for many years after this good old man was seen pacing
through the streets, mounted upon his mare, the two ambling along far more
quietly than he and his former partner had ever done.

Returning, however to the requisitions of the act, we find that, repealing
so much of the ordinance as related to the location of the market house,
it enjoins upon the Trustees "to fix upon some proper place, such as shall
seem most convenient to the inhabitants of the town, and there to erect a
suitable market house."

It was also during this year that the first of a series of smaller towns,
attracted by the growing position of Louisville and hoping soon to rival
it, began to spring up. Jeffersonville, situated nearly opposite
Louisville, on a high bank of the Ohio, and in the State of Indiana, was
laid out in November of this year. Its progress until recently has not
been rapid, but it has gradually gained ground until within the last seven
or eight years, during which it has come to be a very useful and valuable
suburb to the city. More will be said of its history in a proper place.

Within the next year we come to the earliest organization of the town of
Shippingport. This place, now so utterly decayed, once promised not only
to rival but to surpass Louisville. The site occupied by it belonged to
Campbell's division of the two thousand acres mentioned in the earlier
pages of this history, and was by him sold during this year to a Mr.
Berthoud. Upon coming into the possession of this latter gentleman it was
surveyed, a plan of the town drawn and the lots advertised for sale. Its
progress however was not rapid until 1806, when the Messrs. Terascons
purchased the greater part of the lots embraced in the survey, and to
their enterprizing endeavors did the town owe its rise. Its present
importance is so trifling compared with its past greatness, and the
probabilities of its future eminence among towns are so small that we
shall probably not have occasion again to refer to it; and as its brief
history belongs rather to this than to a later era it will be as well to
close this account of it in the words of one who wrote when it was at the
apex of its fame.

"This _important_ place," says Dr. McMurtrie in his sketches of Louisville
published in 1819; "is situated two miles below Louisville, immediately at
the foot of the rapids, and is built upon the beautiful plain or bottom
which commences at the mouth of Beargrass creek, through which, under the
brow of the second bank, the contemplated canal will in all probability be
cut."[10] The town originally consisted of forty-five acres, but it has
since received considerable additions. The lots are 75 by 144 feet, the
average price of which at present (1819) is from forty to fifty dollars
per foot, according to the advantages of its situation. The streets are
all laid out at right angles, those that run parallel to the river, or
nearly so, are eight in number and vary from 30 to 90 feet in width. These
are all intersected by twelve feet allies, running parallel to them, and
by fifteen cross streets at right angles, each sixty feet wide.

The population of Shippingport may be estimated at 600 souls, including
strangers. Some taste is already perceptible in the construction of their
houses, many of which are neatly built and ornamented with galleries, in
which, of a Sunday, are displayed all the beauty of the place. It is, in
fact, the _Bois de Boulogne_ of Louisville, it being the resort of all
classes on high days and holydays.

"At these times, it exhibits a spectacle at once novel and interesting.
The number of steamboats in the port, each bearing one or two flags, the
throng of horses, carriages, and gigs, and the contented appearance of a
crowd of pedestrians, all arrayed in their "Sunday's best" produce an
effect it would be impossible to describe."

The reason of the sudden decay of this once flourishing place is found in
the fact that its utility as a point of embarkation and debarkation for
goods, ceased with the building of the Canal. Previous to this time it had
been, during three parts of the year, the head of the navigation of the
lower Ohio. Even as early as this, however, the necessity for overcoming
the impediment to navigation occasioned by the falls was recognized and
acted upon; and in the year 1804, a Canal Company was chartered; but
nothing was done beyond surveys until long after this time. The subject of
the Canal, however, was one of absorbing interest with the citizens of
Louisville from this time forward, and various plans were proposed,
adopted, rejected and discussed, until the incorporation of the present
Canal Company in 1825. The movement toward removing the obstruction in the
river in any form had its opponents, who urged that the sole commercial
advantage to be possessed by the city consisted in the necessity for
numerous commission and forwarding houses to receive and reship the vast
quantities of merchandise which were to pass up and down this great
artery. Among the many plans suggested for overcoming the break in the
navigation of the river, one of the earliest and most strongly urged was
one which has yet its warm and earnest adherents,--this is the
construction of a Canal on the Indiana shore,--a plan which the citizens
of Louisville have long since ceased to look upon except with aversion,
but which the residents in a sister city are still urging with a violence
which proves, contemptuously as they may speak of Louisville, that their
fears of her as a rival city are strong enough to induce them to wish to
cripple, if not to destroy her. Former surveys have all long since proved
the Kentucky shore to be best suited to the purposes of a Canal, and the
inadequacy of the present construction to the growing trade of the river
does not seem to demonstrate the necessity for still further obstructing
its course, even during high water, by an additional ditch on the other
bank.

Another of the plans suggested at this time, proposed the blasting of a
channel which would unite all the water into one stream at low stages. The
bed of the river was also surveyed to ascertain the expediency of making a
slack water navigation by means of one or more dams or locks. All of these
and various others were however merged in the construction of the present
Canal, which will be noticed at the appropriate period of this history.

With the next year comes another enactment of Assembly with the following
amusing preamble:--"Whereas it is represented to the present General
Assembly that a number of persons residing in the town of Louisville, are
in the habit of raising, and are now possessed of large _numbers of
Swine_, to the great injury of the citizens generally; and that there are
a number of ponds of water in said town, which are nuisances, and
injurious to the health of the city and the prosperity of the town: Be it
therefore enacted--That the present Trustees of the said town, and their
successors, or a majority of them, shall have full power and authority to
remove the same &c." The latter of these nuisances has disappeared under
the efforts of the "said successors," but even the distinguished Mr.
Dickens will bear us witness that the law against the former remains to
this day a dead letter.

Another of the provisions of this same act invests the Trustees with power
to levy a sum not exceeding eight hundred dollars for the purpose of
repairing the streets, and in consideration thereof exempts those citizens
from working on the streets, who shall pay an equivalent of 75 cents in
money. It also gives the Trustees power to make regulations and by-laws
for the proper preservation of order, to appoint a tax collector &c., and
extends the privilege of voting for Trustees to the residents of the ten
and twenty acre lots, thereby increasing the purlieus of the town to the
present site of Chestnut street.

In speaking of the navigation and commerce of this period, Dr. McMurtrie
tells us that in 1806 "six keel boats and two barges; the one of thirty
tons, belonging to Reed, of Cincinnati; the other of forty, owned by
Instone, of Frankfort; sufficed for the carrying trade of Louisville and
Shippingport." The rapid and almost magical increase of trade in less than
fifty years after this will at once suggest itself to every reader.

Mr. T. Cumming, the first European traveler who passed through Louisville,
of whose record we have any knowledge, thus states his impressions of the
town during this year. He says:--"I had thought Cincinnati one of the most
beautiful towns I had seen in America, but Louisville, which is almost as
large, equals it in beauty, and in the opinion of many exceeds it. It was
considered as unhealthy, which impeded its progress until three or four
years ago, when, probably in consequence of the country being more opened,
bilious complaints ceased to be so frequent, and it is now considered by
the inhabitants as healthy as any town on the river. There is a Market
House, where is a good market every Wednesday and Saturday. Great retail
business is done here, and much produce shipped to New Orleans."

In the year 1807, we get the first mention of a newspaper published in
Louisville. We are not able however to give any account of its origin,
ownership or history. It is known only from an enactment of Assembly
requiring certain laws to be published in its columns. It was called the
"Farmer's Library." Similar mention is also made during the next year of a
paper called "The Louisville Gazette." Whether it succeeded the "Farmer's
Library," as the acts of Assembly would seem to show, or was cotemporary
with it is not known; a bare mention of its name is all that is left to
posterity. In America, the presence of the newspaper is ever the mark of
peace, and quiet, and comfort. What to those of other nations is the
luxury of affluent ease is to the American the earliest of necessities.
The moment the rifle is laid aside, the newspaper is taken up. It is
incident upon his every conquest, whether of man or of nature. The click
of his rifle is succeeded by that of his types, and the roar of his cannon
has hardly ceased till we hear the roll of his press.

Ten years having now elapsed since a statistical table of the town has
been examined it may not be uninteresting to furnish another list of the
taxable property within its limits. It will be recollected that the entire
list of 1797 amounted to L31 15s 6d. Let us now turn to the list for the
present year as shown by the assessor's books, and mark the rapid increase
of these ten years.

  $74,000 value of lots at 10 per cent           $740 00
  113 White Tythes at 50c                          56 50
  82 Black    "    over 16 years, at 25c           20 50
  83   "      "    under 16  "    at 12-1/2c       10 38
  11 Retail Stores at $5                           55 00
  3 Tavern Licenses at $2                           6 0
  30 Carriage Wheels at 12-1/2c per wheel           3 75
  2 Billiard Tables at $2 50                        5 00
  131 Horses at 12-1/2                             16 37
                                                 -------
      Total                                      $913 50

Without pausing to remark further on this comparative statement, we pass
on to the next event worthy of a place in this brief chronicle. This was
the erection of a Theater in Louisville, which occurred early in 1808. We
have no means of ascertaining who were the original projectors of this
enterprise, but we have the authority of Dr. McMurtrie for stating that
until 1818, it was "but little better than a barn." At that time,
however, it fell into the hands of the celebrated Mr. Drake, under whose
auspices was established the golden era of the Drama in the West. Not only
did this gentleman please the taste and gratify the judgment of his
audience, but he absolutely created a high standard of taste and judgment
among them, the effects of which are still perceptible here. It is chiefly
to the education received under his management that the critical talent of
our Theatrical audiences of to-day, so well known and so generally
acknowledged by the profession, is owing. Many whose names are now
prominent in histrionic art took the initiatory steps in their career
under Mr. Drake's regime here. This Theater stood upon the North side of
Jefferson street, between Third and Fourth, and was destroyed by fire in
1843. For a long time previous to its destruction, however, it had ceased
to be the resort of any but the most profligate members of society. Even
before the destruction of the City Theater, Mr. Coleman undertook the
erection of a new dramatic temple at the South-east corner of Green and
Fourth streets, but from some cause did not proceed further than the
erection of the outer walls. This unfinished building was afterwards
purchased by Mr. Bates of Cincinnati, and was by him opened for the first
time early in the year 1846, since when it has been regularly opened
during a part of every year, and performances creditable alike to the
judgement of its manager, and the taste of its audiences have been
regularly given.




CHAPTER V.


The series of details, mostly of an uninteresting and dry nature, which
were so hastily passed over in the last chapter seem to have been but the
precursors to events of a character far more important to the interests of
the city and far more agreeable to the reader. Before we approach,
however, the one great event which opened a new theater of action to the
city, and developed resources before undreamed of--the steam navigation of
the Ohio. It will be necessary, to preserve the order in which this
history has been written, to stop to notice two or three lesser matters.

Louisville, having become, from her peculiar position as a half-way house
between the North and the South, the resort of numbers of strangers, it
became necessary establish a police for the security of persons and
property. This was done in 1810 by the appointment of two Watchmen, John
Ferguson and Edward Dowler, at a salary of $250 per annum; and the records
of the time do not show that these persons held their office as a
sinecure.

The rogues having been thus placed under supervision, it became necessary
to have a proper place for the administration of justice to them. In
pursuance of this idea a Court House was erected in the centre of a large
square now bounded by Fifth, Seventh, Market and Jefferson Streets. This
building was made of brick after a plan drawn by John Gwathmey and was
finished in 1811. The precise site of the house is now occupied by a part
of the present Jail. It fronted on Sixth Street, and consisted of a main
building with two wings attached. In front of the main building was a
lofty Ionic portico, supported by four columns. Long before this building
was removed, these columns, which were built of wood, gave convincing and
thoroughly American proof that they had been consigned to other uses than
those intended by their projectors. Notwithstanding their great size, the
attacks made upon them by the _pen-knives_ of the attachees of the court
had actually severed one of them, and the wood within convenient reach of
a man's hand which remained in the other three, would hardly have served
for one day's good _whittling_. This edifice was, in its earlier days, the
handsomest of its kind in the western country. It was pulled down in 1836,
in order to make room for the new structure undertaken, but never
completed, in 1837.

This sublime monument of the city's folly, was begun on a scale of
unexampled magnificence, and had it been possible to complete it, would
have been one of the most beautiful buildings in the West. It still stands
an almost mouldering ruin, its half-finished grandeur constantly recalling
the parable of the foolish man who "began to build and was not able to
finish."

We come now to notice an event of vital importance, not only to
Louisville, but to the whole West. This was the commencement of Steam
Navigation on the western rivers. In October of 1811, Fulton's steamboat
called the "New Orleans," intended to run from the port of that name to
Natchez, left Pittsburg for its point of destination. At this time there
were but two steamboats on this continent; these were the North River and
The Clermont, and they were occupied on the Hudson River. The New Orleans
on her first trip took neither freight nor passengers. Her inmates "were
Mr. Roosevelt, an associate of Fulton, with his wife and family, Mr.
Baker, the engineer, Andrew Jack, the pilot, and six hands with a few
domestics." Her landing at Louisville is thus described in Latrobe's
Rambler in America.

"Late at night on the fourth day after quitting Pittsburg, they arrived in
safety at Louisville, having been but seventy hours descending upwards of
seven hundred miles. The novel appearance of the vessel, and the fearful
rapidity with which it made its passage over the broad reaches of the
river, excited a mixture of terror and surprise among many of the settlers
on the banks, whom the rumor of such an invention had never reached; and
it is related that on the unexpected arrival of the boat before
Louisville, in the course of a fine still moonlight night, the
extraordinary sound which filled the air as the pent-up steam was suffered
to escape from the valves on rounding to, produced a general alarm, and
multitudes in the town rose from their beds to ascertain the cause. I have
heard that the general impression among the Kentuckians was, that the
comet had fallen into the Ohio; but this does not rest upon the same
foundation as the other facts which I lay before you, and which, I may at
once say, I had directly from the lips of the parties themselves."

The water on the falls did not allow the Orleans to pass on to Natchez and
she consequently made use of her time of detention by making several trips
to and from Cincinnati. Toward the last of November she was enabled to
pass the rapids, and after having weathered out the earthquakes, reached
Natchez about the 1st of January, 1812. This boat was finally wrecked near
Baton Rouge, where she struck on her upward passage from New Orleans.

From this event we may date the prosperity of Louisville as a fixed fact.
At the head of ascending and the foot of descending navigation, all the
wealth of the western country must pass through her hands. Such advantages
as were here presented could not go unheeded. It became only necessary for
the people to be convinced of the efficacy of steamboat navigation, and
the opportunities held out to the capitalist by Louisville must be seen
and embraced.

But as if to counterbalance the dawning of this great good, there came
with it a great evil; for it was in December of this year that the first
of a series of terrible and violent earthquakes was felt at Louisville;
these carried consternation to the hearts of all her citizens; and during
the four months of their almost constant recurrance there was little
either of leisure or inclination for political progress. The first of the
shocks was felt on the 16th of December at 2 h. 15 m. in the morning. Mr.
Jared Brookes says of it: "It seems as if the surface of the earth was
afloat and set in motion by a slight application of immense power, but
when this regularity is broken by a sudden cross shove, all order is
destroyed, and a boiling action is produced, during the continuance of
which the degree of violence is greatest, and the scene most dreadful;
houses and other objects oscillate largely, irregularly and in different
directions. A great noise is produced by the agitation of all the loose
matter in town, but no other sound is heard; the general consternation is
great, and the damage done considerable; gable ends, parapets, and
chimneys of many houses are thrown down." The whole duration of this shock
from the earliest tremor to the last oscillation was about four minutes.
This shock was succeeded during the same day by two others of almost equal
power. It is related that when it was felt, several gentlemen were amusing
themselves with cards when some one rushed in crying, "Gentlemen, how can
you be engaged in this way when the world is so near its end?" The
card-table was immediately deserted for the street, where from the
vibratory motion the very stars seemed toppling to a fall. "What a pity,"
philosophized one of the party, "that so beautiful a world should be thus
destroyed!" "Almost every one of them," says a historian of the incident,
"believed that mother Earth, as she heaved and struggled, was in her last
agony."

During the prevalence of the earthquakes, it was customary to suspend some
object so as to act as a pendulum in all the rooms and by the degree of
its motion to determine the probable amount of danger. If the pendulum
began to vibrate freely, the house was instantly deserted. Those who
inhabited the loftier and statelier mansions were, at least for the time
being, free from the envy of their humble neighbors, with whom they would
then have freely exchanged tenements. The possession of a princely edifice
would then have been a source of regret rather than of pride or of
congratulation. It is said, that unlike the great calamities of other
times, this one had a good effect upon the public morals. The reason of
this may probably be found in the fact that while this was a source of
constant terror and alarm, it was yet not of a character to produce that
despair which leads men to seek to drown all thoughts of a future in the
reckless pursuit of pleasure or of forgetfulness.

Mr. Jared Brooks who preserved a faithful scientific account of these
earthquakes refers to that of the 7th of February, 1812, as the most
violent endured at any period during their continuance. It occurred at 3
h. 15 m. in the morning and, as this gentleman's account says, "was
preceded by frequent slight motions for several minutes; duration of great
violence at least 4 minutes, then gradually moderated by exertions of
lessening strength, but continued a constant motion more than two hours;
then followed a succession of distinct tremors or jarrings at short
intervals until 10 h. A. M., when, for a few seconds, a shock of some
degree of severity, after which frequent jarrings and slight tremors
during the day, once, at least in ten minutes. At 8 h. 10 m. P. M. a shock
of second-rate violence, and during some minutes two others at equal
periods, connected by continual tremor of considerable severity; the last
shock was violent in the first degree, but of too short duration to do
much injury. At 10 h. 10 m. P. M, after frequent considerable motions, the
shock comes on violent in the second degree, strengthens to tremendous,
holds at that about seven seconds, then trembles away, severe about five
minutes; frequent tremors follow, and a shock of third-rate violence. The
action then ceases for a time." With one more extract from Mr. Brooks, we
shall conclude this account of the celebrated earthquakes of 1811. This is
a table showing the number and relative value of all the earthquakes
experienced here. It is preceded by a lucid explanation of the degrees of
violence referred to in the table, and shows at a glance the number and
intensity of the shocks.

"_First-Rate._--Most tremendous, so as to threaten the destruction of the
town, and which would soon effect it, should the action continue with the
same degree of violence; buildings oscillate largely and irregularly, and
grind against each other; the walls split and begin to yield; chimneys,
parapets and gable ends break in various directions and topple to the
ground.

"_Second-Rate._--Less violent, but very severe.

"_Third-Rate._--Moderate, but alarming to people generally.

"_Fourth-Rate._--Perceptible to the feeling of those who are still and not
subject to other motion or sort of jarring, that may resemble this.

"_Sixth-Rate._--Although often causing a strange sort of sensation,
absence, and sometimes gidiness, the motion is not to be ascertained
positively; but by the vibrators or other objects placed for that
purpose.

TABLE.

  +----------------------------------------------------------------+
  |End of each Week| 1st | 2d | 3d | 4th | 5th | 6th Rate.| Total. |
  |----------------|-----|----|----|-----|-----|----------|--------|
  | December 22    |  3  |  2 |  3 |  1  |  12 |      66  |    87  |
  |     "    29    |  0  |  0 |  0 |  0  |   6 |     150  |   156  |
  | January   5    |  0  |  1 |  2 |  9  |   3 |     119  |   134  |
  |    "     12    |  0  |  1 |  0 | 10  |   0 |     150  |   161  |
  |    "     19    |  0  |  0 |  0 |  4  |   6 |      55  |    65  |
  |    "     26    |  1  |  1 |  7 |  2  |   2 |      78  |    91  |
  | February  2    |  1  |  0 |  4 |  6  |   7 |     191  |   209  |
  |      "    9    |  3  |  5 |  7 |  5  |  15 |     140  |   175  |
  |      "   16    |  0  |  0 |  3 |  6  |  12 |      65  |    86  |
  |      "   23    |  0  |  0 |  4 |  6  |   4 |     278  |   292  |
  | March     1    |  0  |  0 |  1 |  4  |   8 |     126  |   139  |
  |   "       8    |  0  |  0 |  2 |  9  |   8 |      39  |    58  |
  |   "      15    |  0  |  0 |  2 |  3  |   6 |     210  |   221  |
  |----------------|-----|----|----|-----|-----|----------|--------|
  |       Total    |  8  | 10 | 35 | 65  |  89 |    1667  |  1874  |
  +----------------------------------------------------------------+

The good effect which, as before mentioned, was produced upon the morals
of the town by this succession of dangers does not seem to have been of
permanent value if we may credit a writer in the Bedford Pa. Gazette, in
the year 1814, who makes himself very merry over what he is pleased to
term the "devout paroxisms" of the good citizens of this place, as will
appear by the following communication.

He says: "At Louisville, in the State of Kentucky, a town about four times
as large as Bedford, they have no church. When the earthquake gave them
the first shock, they grew very devout in one night; and on the next day
with long faces, they subscribed a thousand dollars to build a house of
public worship. Thus the matter rested until the second shock came, when
another devout paroxism produced another thousand dollars. It rested again
till a third earthquake and devout fit produced another subscription to
the same amount. There was no more of the matter. The earthquake did not
return, and the Louisvillians concluded the devil would not send for them
for a few years more, and in the mean time determined to be merry. They
immediately built a theater, which cost them seven thousand dollars, and
employed a company of actors, the offscourings of maratime city theaters.
To this company they gave about five hundred dollars per week, till at
length the actors, instead of raising the curtain, broke through it and
broke each other's heads with sticks, and the heads of some of the
auditors who interfered. The earthquakes have lately begun to shake
Louisville again, but whether they laugh or pray I have not heard."

The Western Courier, published at Louisville, copies this article, with
some stringent remarks upon its contents; and attributes the authorship of
it to some actor whose efforts in his profession had not been duly honored
by the people whom he villifies. Who is in the right in this matter it is
now impossible to say; but it is certain that the author of the article in
question is guilty of an anachronism, for it will be remembered that the
theater was built previous to the commencement of the earthquakes. It is,
however, unquestionably true that the theater was built several years
before a church edifice of any kind was attempted.

The newspaper from which this article was copied was commenced here in
October or November of 1810, by Nicholas Clarke. It was published weekly
at three dollars per annum, and contained for the most part little else
than news of the wars, acts of Assembly and of Congress, and
advertisements. In 1814, Mann Butler joined Mr. Clarke in the editorship
of the paper, but did not continue long in his chair. The Louisville
Correspondent was issued at about the same time, and edited by Col. E. C.
Barry. It was discontinued in 1817. It is believed that there are no files
of it in existence now.

Reference to all the early files of newspapers published at this day, will
show how gradual and yet how certain was the progress of steamboat
navigation on the Ohio. The arrival of every boat was carefully noted and
always accompanied with a great flourish of trumpets and a renewed eulogy
on the wonders of the new invention. Much credit is due to Capt. H. M.
Shreve, lately of St. Louis, for his indefatigable and successful
endeavors to improve as well as to enlarge this prominent branch of
commerce. As is well known, Fulton and Livingston held a patent for the
entire right to navigate all the rivers in the United Stages for a certain
number of years. But Mr. Shreve, seeing the injustice of this grant and
doubting its legality, openly defied it; and finally, after much effort
and not a little pecuniary loss, succeeded in 1816 in removing the grant
and throwing open the navigation of the public highways to all. It will
not be uninteresting to the reader, while upon this fruitful topic, to
glance at a list of all the steamboats employed upon the western waters
until 1819. This list is copied from Dr. McMurtrie, whose data is not
always implicitly reliable. It has however been corrected as far as was
practicable at this remote period. The present tense, whenever employed,
is meant to refer to the year 1819.

STEAMBOATS EMPLOYED ON THE WESTERN WATERS FROM 1812 TO 1819.

1st. _The Orleans_--the first boat built at Pittsburg, owned by and
constructed under the superintendence of Mr. Fulton. Sailed from Pittsburg
in October, 1811, and arrived at her destination, Natchez, about the 1st
January, 1812. She ran between New Orleans and Natchez about two years,
making her voyages to average seventeen days; was wrecked near Baton
Rouge, where she sunk on the upward bound passage; 400 tons burthen.

2d. _The Comet_--owned by Samuel Smith; built at Pittsburg by Daniel
French; stern-wheel and vibrating cylinder; on French's patent granted in
1809. The Comet made a voyage to Louisville in the summer of 1813; and
descended to New Orleans in the Spring of 1814; made two voyages to
Natchez, and was sold; the engine put up in a cotton gin; 45 tons burthen.

3d. The _Vesuvius_--built at Pittsburg by Fulton, and owned by a company
of gentlemen belonging to New York and New Orleans. Sailed from New
Orleans in the Spring of 1814, commanded by Captain Frank Ogden. She was
then employed some months between New Orleans and Natchez, under the
command of Captain Clemmont, who was succeeded by Captain John DeHart;
shortly after she took fire, near the city of New Orleans and burned to
the water's edge; having a valuable cargo on board. She was afterwards
raised and built upon at New Orleans. She has since been in the Louisville
trade, and has lately been sold to a company at Natchez; 390 tons burthen.

4th. The _Enterprise_--built at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, on the
Monongahela, by Daniel French, on his patent, and owned by a company at
that place. She made two voyages to Louisville in the summer of 1814,
under the command of Captain J. Gregg. On the first of December she took
in a cargo of ordinance stores at Pittsburg, and sailed for New Orleans,
commanded by Captain H. M. Shreve, and arrived at New Orleans on the 14th
of the same month. She made one voyage to the Gulf of Mexico as a cartel;
one voyage to the rapids of Red River with troops; nine voyages to
Natchez; set out for Pittsburgh on the 6th May, and arrived at
Shippingport on the 30th, (25 days out,) being the first steamboat that
ever arrived at that port from New Orleans. From thence she proceeded on
to Pittsburgh, and the command was given to Captain D. Wooley, who lost
her about twelve months after in Rock harbor at Shippingport; 45 tons
burthen.

5th. _Etna_--built at Pittsburg, and owned by the same company as the
_Vesuvius_; sailed from Pittsburg for New Orleans in March, 1815, under
the command of Captain A. Gale, and arrived in April following; continued
in the Natchez trade. Was then commanded by Captain R. De Hart, who made
six voyages in her to Louisville; and is now commanded by Captain A. Gale
in the same trade.

6th. The _Dispatch_--built at Brownsville, on French's patent, and owned
by the same company as the _Enterprise_. She made several voyages from
Pittsburg to Louisville, and one from New Orleans to Shippingport, where
she now lies a wreck, her engine out; was commanded by Captain J. Gregg;
25 tons burthen.

7th and 8th. The _Buffalo_, 300 tons; and _James Monroe_, 90 tons; built
at Pittsburg by Latrobe, for a company at New York, but failed in
finishing them. They were sold at Sheriff's sale, and fell into the hands
of Mr. Whiting, and finished by him with engines; both dull sailers.

9th. _Washington_--a two-decker; built at Wheeling, Virginia; constructed
and partly owned by Captain H. M. Shreve; her engine was made at
Brownsville, under the immediate direction of Captain Shreve. Her boilers
are on the upper deck, being the first boat on that plan, and is a
valuable improvement by Captain Shreve, which is now generally in use. The
Washington crossed the falls in September, 1816, commanded by Captain
Shreve, went to New Orleans, and returned to Louisville in the winter. In
the month of March, 1817, she left Shippingport a second time, proceeded
to New Orleans, and returned to Shippingport, being absent but 45 days.
This was the trip that convinced the despairing public that steamboat
navigation would succeed on the western waters. She has since been running
with similar success in the same trade; 400 tons burthen.

10th. The _Franklin_--built at Pittsburg, by Messrs. Shires and Cromwell;
engine built by George Evans; sailed from Pittsburg in December 1816; was
sold at New Orleans, and has been in the Louisville and St. Louis trade
since that time; she was sunk in the Mississippi near St. Genevieve a few
months since, under the command of Captain Reed, on her way to St. Louis;
150 tons burthen.

11th. The _Oliver Evans_; (now the _Constitution_,) 75 tons; was built at
Pittsburg by Mr. George Evans; engine his patent. She left Pittsburg in
December, 1816, for New Orleans; in 1817 she burst one of her boilers, off
Coupee, by which eleven men lost their lives, principally passengers. Has
done but little since. Is now owned by Mr. George Sutton and others of
Pittsburg; 75 tons burthen.

12th. The _Harriet_--built at Pittsburg; owned and constructed by Mr.
Armstrong, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. She sailed from Pittsburg,
October, 1816, for New Orleans, and crossed the falls in March, 1817; made
one voyage to New Orleans, and has since run between that place and the
Muscle Shoals; 40 tons burthen.

13th. The _Pike_--a small boat built by Mr. Prentiss, of Henderson,
Kentucky; run some time from Louisville to St. Louis; from thence in the
Red River trade. Was lost on a sawyer, March, 1818; 25 tons burthen.

14th. The _Kentucky_--built at Frankfort, Kentucky, and owned by Hanson
and Boswell; in the Louisville trade; 80 tons burthen.

15th. The _Gov. Shelby_--built at Louisville, Kentucky, by Messrs. Gray,
Gwathmey and Gretsinger; Bolton and Watt's engine. Now performing very
successfully in the Louisville trade; 120 tons burthen.

16th. The _New Orleans_--built at Pittsburg in 1817, by Fulton and
Livingston; in the Natchez trade. Near Baton Rouge, she was sunk and
raised again, and sunk at New Orleans in Feb. 1819, about two months after
her sinking near Baton Rouge; 300 tons burthen.

17th. The _George Madison_--built at Pittsburg in 1818, by Messrs.
Voorhies, Mitchell, Rodgers, and Todd, of Frankfort, Kentucky; in the
Louisville trade: 200 tons burthen.

18th. The _Ohio_--built at New Albany by Messrs. Shreve and Blair; in the
Louisville trade; 443 tons burthen.

19th. The _Napoleon_--built at Shippingport in 1818, by Messrs. Shreve,
Miller, and Breckenridge, of Louisville; in the Louisville trade; 332 tons
burthen.

20th. The _Volcano_--built at New Albany, by Messrs. John and Robertson De
Hart, in 1808; in the Louisville trade; 250 tons burthen.

21st. The _Gen. Jackson_--built at Pittsburg in 1818, and owned by Messrs.
R. Whiting of Pittsburg, and Gen. Carroll of Tennessee; in the Nashville
trade; 200 tons burthen.

22d. The _Eagle_--built at Cincinnati in 1818, owned by Messrs. James
Berthoud and Son, of Shippingport, Kentucky; in the Louisville trade; 70
tons burthen.

23d. The _Hecla_--built at Cincinnati in 1818, and owned by Messrs. Honore
and Barbaroux, of Louisville, Kentucky; in the Louisville trade; 70 tons
burthen.

24th. The _Henderson_--built at Cincinnati in 1818, and owned by Messrs.
Bowens, of Henderson, Kentucky; in the Henderson and Louisville trade; 85
tons burthen.

25th. The _Johnson_--built at Wheeling in 1818, by George White, and owned
by Messrs. J. and R. Johnson, of Kentucky; in the Louisville trade; 90
tons burthen.

26th. The _Cincinnati_--built at Cincinnati in 1818, and owned by Messrs.
Peniwit and Burns, of Cincinnati, and Messrs. Paxton and Co. of New
Albany; in the Louisville trade; 120 tons burthen.

27th. The _Exchange_--built at Louisville in 1818, and owned by David L.
Ward, of Jefferson county, Kentucky; in the Louisville trade; 200 tons
burthen.

28th. The _Louisiana_--built at New Orleans in 1818, and owned by Mr.
Duplissa of New Orleans; in the Natchez trade; 45 tons burthen.

29th. The _James Ross_--built at Pittsburg in 1818, and owned by Messrs.
Whiting and Stackpole, of Pittsburg; in the Louisville trade. This boat
has lately made a trip from New Orleans to Shippingport, in sixteen days
and a half, having lost sixty one hours and eight minutes in discharging
cargo on the way. Had on board 200 tons cargo; 330 tons burthen.

30th. The _Frankfort_--built at Pittsburg in 1818, and owned by Messrs.
Voorhies and Mitchell of Frankfort, Kentucky; in the Louisville trade; 320
tons burthen.

31st. The _Tamerlane_--built at Pittsburg in 1818, and owned by Messrs.
Boggs and Co., of New York; in the Louisville trade; 320 tons burthen.

32d. The _Cedar Branch_--built in 1818, and owned at Maysville, Kentucky;
in the Louisville trade; 250 tons burthen.

33d. The _Experiment_--built at Cincinnati in 1818, and owned at that
place; 40 tons burthen.

34th The _St Louis_--built at Shippingport in 1818, and owned by Messrs.
Hewes, Douglass, Johnson and others; in the St. Louis trade; 220 tons
burthen.

35th. The _Vesta_--built at Cincinnati in 1817, and owned by Captain
Jenkins of that place; in the Louisville trade; 100 tons burthen.

36th. The _Rifleman_--built at Louisville in 1819, and owned by Messrs.
Butler and Barners, of Russelville, Kentucky; in the Louisville trade; 250
tons burthen.

37th. The _Alabama_--a small boat, built on Lake Ponchetrane in 1818; in
the Red River trade.

38th. The _Rising States_--built at Pittsburg in 1819, and owned by W. F.
Peterson and Co., of Louisville; in the Louisville trade.

39th. The _General Pike_--built at Cincinnati in 1819, intended to ply
between Louisville, Cincinnati, and Maysville, as a packet, and owned by a
company in Cincinnati.

40th. The _Independence_--owned by Captain Nelson, and intended to ply
between Louisville and St. Louis.

41st. The _United States_--built at Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1819;
owned by Hart and others, and has two separate engines, made in England.
She is doubtless the finest merchant steamboat in the universe, drawing
but little water, and capable of carrying 3000 bales of cotton; in the
Louisville trade; 700 tons burthen.

The interest of this subject and the quantity of material which presses
upon us in regard to it have for awhile led us to forget the proper order
of our history, to which it will be necessary now to revert. Commencing
then with 1811 we have first to record the erection of a Catholic Chapel
by the Rev. Mr. Badin. This building was situated upon a lot given by Mr.
Tarascon, near the present corner of Eleventh and Main streets. It was
built in the Gothic style, and was a small edifice. The lot upon which it
stood was used as the cemetery of the church, and many years afterward in
digging out Eleventh street; skulls, bones, and portions of bodies were
thrown up from this graveyard.

With the opening of the year 1812, was commenced the first Bank ever
instituted in Louisville. This was the branch of the Bank of Kentucky.
Previous to this, there was an unincorporated establishment named the
Louisville Bank, whose capital of about 75,000 dollars was thrown into
this Bank, with an addition of 25,000 dollars, making for the first
incorporated Bank a capital of 100,000 dollars. This bank was situated on
the North side of Main street, near the corner of Fifth, and was under the
direction of Thomas Prather,[11] President, and John Bustard, Cashier. An
additional impetus was also given to the commercial prosperity of the town
by the establishment, during this year, of an iron foundry by Mr. Paul
Skidmore. The attention of this foundry was directed to casting gudgeons
for water and horse mills, dog and smoothing irons, and odd oven lids.
From this small beginning arose that branch of industry now so large and
of so vital importance to the city. A brief sketch of the progress of
foundries since that time may be interesting to the reader. Mr. Skidmore
was succeeded by Joshua Headington, who continued the same description of
business with little if any improvement until 1817, when he was in his
turn succeeded by Prentiss and Bakewell, who undertook the building of
Steam engines, getting a part of the machinery from Philadelphia, and a
part from Pittsburg, but they did not succeed very satisfactorily until
1825, when they built some engines for small boats which performed
respectably. These gentlemen dissolved their connection about 1826. Mr.
Prentiss continued the business a short time alone, and then sold one half
of his establishment to Jacob Keffer, who was to superintend the foundry.
In 1831, this foundry ceased operations, and Messrs. D. L. Beatty, John
Curry, and Jacob Beckwith built a foundry and carried on successfully the
casting and steam engine business. These gentlemen erected the first air
furnace which ever proved of any value; built the first regular
boring-mill, and substituted the blowing cylinder instead of the common
wood and leather bellows. There are now six foundries for building
steam-engines and machinery of all kinds in full operation, beside six
extensive Stove Foundries.

The legislature of the State passed an act during this year ordering Main
street to be paved from cross No. 3 to cross No. 6, at the expense of the
owners of lots fronting on said street. While the paving was progressing
agreeably to this order, an honest Scotchman came by from the vicinity
with a loaded wagon. "What'll ye be doin' there?" was his salutation to
the superintendent of the work. "Paving the street," was the answer.
"Pavin', do ye say, weel, weel, when it's done, I'll willinly pay my peart
o' it, for I hae had awfu' wark gettin' through it a' before." It is not
recorded whether this honest gentleman was called on for his "peart," but
it is presumed he was enabled to enjoy these advantages gratis.

It was also about this period that a Methodist church was built in this
place. This church is the one referred to in the communication published a
few pages previous. It was the second church of any kind ever built in the
city, and was erected by the subscriptions of all the citizens. It was
under the direction of the Methodists, but was opened to ministers of all
denominations. It was situated on the North side of Market street between
Seventh and Eighth. The house has since been converted into a dwelling and
is still standing. It was soon found to be too small to accommodate the
growing population of the town and was accordingly sold, and the present
Fourth street Methodist Church built with the proceeds of that sale,
assisted by the subscriptions of the citizens. This latter building was
erected in 1815.

In 1814 the town of Portland was laid out by Alexander Ralston, for the
proprietor William Lytle. It was originally divided into Portland proper,
and the enlargement of Portland. The lots in Portland proper were all half
acre lots, and when laid out, were sold for two hundred dollars each. In
1819 they had advanced to about one thousand dollars. The lots in the
enlargement were three-fourths of an acre, and were sold at three hundred
dollars each. This town was not established by law until 1834, and in 1837
it was adjoined to the city. It has fulfilled the office of a suburb to
Louisville, but has never at any time held prominent importance among
towns, and is chiefly worthy of notice now as a point of landing for the
largest class of New Orleans boats at seasons when the stage of the river
will not allow them to pass over the rapids. Although it was at one time
predicted that "its future destinies might be regarded as those of a
highly flourishing and important town," it has never equalled the least
sanguine hopes of its friends. It has no history of its own worthy of
relation.

During the same year the town of New Albany, in the State of Indiana,
opposite to Portland, was laid out by its proprietors, the Messrs.
Scribner. Its progress at first was slow, but the many advantages which it
presented (firstly its extremely healthy location, and secondly the great
quantity and excellent quality of ship timber in its vicinity,) soon
established its prosperity. In 1819 it contained a population of about
1000 souls, and had 150 dwelling houses. A historian of this latter period
asserts that the inhabitants are _all_ either Methodists or Presbyterians.
It has now grown to be one of the most important towns in Indiana, and
still promises renewed and increased prosperity. It would be hardly fair
to class this flourishing city as a suburb of Louisville, and yet the two
are so intimately connected that the prosperity or adversity of the one
cannot but affect the other. The value of those relations will be shown
hereafter.

Some idea may be formed of the commercial prosperity of the town at this
period by reference to the following manifest of the Barges and Keel
boats, arrived at this port during the three months, ending July 18th,
1814. There arrived during that period, 12 barges, in all 524 tons
burthen, and 7 keel boats, in all 132 tons. The following is a manifest of
cargoes delivered by these boats during that period.

  813 bales Cotton,
  26 bbls. and kegs fish,
  28 cases Wine,
  1 bbl.    "
  1 bag and 1 bbl. Allspice,
  6 ceroons Cochineal,
  1 demij. and 1 bbl. lime juice,
  1 Bale Bear Skins,
  28 boxes Steel,
  438 hhds. Sugar,
  1267 bbls. Sugar,
  12 Boxes     "
  1 bbl. Fish Oil,
  2 bags Pepper,
  28 bales Wool,
  21   "   Hides,
  453  "     "  dry,
  1 bbl. Rice,
  5 bbls. Molasses,
  128 bbls. Coffee,
  339 bags    "
  5 cases Preserves,
  29 bbls. Indigo,
  2 ceroons  "
  6 tons Logwood,
  18000 lbs. pig cop'r,
  1 box Crockery,
  The probable value of these articles was estimated at $266,015.

It was during the same year that Messrs. Jacob and Hikes put into
successful operation a paper mill at this point. The Western Courier was
issued on paper manufactured at this mill.

A very great barrier to the progress of the town at this period consisted
in its great unhealthiness. Owing to the vast reservoirs of standing water
which still remained in and about the town, there was a great deal of
bilious and remittent fever, "often sufficiently aggravated to entitle it
to the name of _yellow fever_." It will be recollected that reference has
been heretofore made to this subject. At this period, a new alarm was
raised, and it was found difficult to get people even to bring produce to
the markets of the town. Acclimation was considered, and indeed _was_
absolutely necessary. The newspapers of the day teem with indignation at
the course pursued by the neighboring and rival towns in circulating
aggravated accounts of the progress of disease here. But even the warmest
friends of Louisville did not pretend to deny that it was extremely
unhealthy. One of these writing soon after this date, says: "To affirm
that Louisville is a healthy place would be absurd, but it is much more so
than the thousand tongues of fame would make us believe; and as many of
the causes which prevent it from becoming perfectly so, can be removed, a
few years hence may find the favorable alterations accomplished, and so do
away with the general impression of its being the grave-yard of the
Western country." As is well known, this prediction has been verified, and
from the reputation of a grave-yard, Louisville has now everywhere
attained the title of the most healthy city in America.

With the commencement of the next year, 1815, we are again enabled to give
the following very accurate tabular view of the political position of the
city. The following table will clearly show its past growth, and give an
accurate idea of its size, commerce, and manufactures at that time.

  24 Merchantile Stores,
  1 Book           do,
  1 Auction and Commission, store,
  1 Clothing store,
  1 Leather    do,
  1 Druggist's do,
  1 Plan maker,
  1 Carding and Spinning factory,
  1 Tin Shop,
  4 Bazars,
  4 Rope Walks,
  4 High Schools,
  1 Theater,
  5 Medicine shops,
  8 Boot makers,
  4 Cabinet makers,
  2 Coach    do,
  1 Gun Smith,
  1 Silver do,
  2 Printing offices,
  1 Soap factory,
  1 Air foundry,
  4 Bakers,
  2 Tobacco factories,
  6 Brick Yards,
  1 Tan Yard,
  3 House Painters,
  4 Chair makers,
  5 Tailors,
  5 Hatters,
  3 Saddlers,
  2 Coppersmiths,
  1 Steam Saw mill,
  1 Nail factory,
  6 Blacksmiths,
  1 Brewer,
  1 Bagging factory,
  1 Stone ware, do,
  1 Meth. church,
  2 Taverns, (inferior to none in the Western country, and several
      others of less note.)

The only other event belonging to this year which may be considered worthy
of note was the arrival on the 1st of June of the steamboat Enterprize,
Captain Shreve, _only 25 days from New Orleans_! This trip then so
astonishingly speedy is made the subject of remark in the newspapers of
the day, and Captain Shreve is every where congratulated on "the _celerity
and safety_ with which his boat ascends and descends the currents of these
mighty waters." These congratulations or at least a part of them were
received just in time, for in about a year afterwards, this same gentleman
proved that his navigation was not always alike _safe_ and speedy. On the
3d June, 1816, he was in command of the steamer Washington, bound from
Pittsburg for Louisville, when she met with the first serious disaster
which had ever occurred in the steamboat navigation of the Ohio. When near
Wheeling this boat burst her cylinder-head, killing seven persons and
injuring several others, Capt. Shreve among the latter number. This
accident elicited a degree of sympathy and occasioned an amount of alarm,
which a much more severe steamboat disaster would now fail to produce.

The following announcement from one of the newspapers of the day, gives an
account of the launching of the first steamboat ever built at this point;
and shows that despite of accident and danger, the citizens had fairly
embarked in a business that has since been so productive to the interests
of the city. "On Monday the 3d of July, was safely launched from her
stocks, at the mouth of Beargrass into her destined element, the elegant
new steamboat Gov. Shelby, owned by Messrs. Gray, Gwathmey, Gretsinger
and Ruble of this town. The Gov. Shelby is intended as a regular trader
between this place and New Orleans, is of 122 tons burden, and is thought
by judges to be one of the handsomest models, which does great credit to
her constructors, Messrs. Desmarie and McClary."

It was at this period that the old banking system was in the zenith of its
power. The whole country was flooded with paper money of all kinds and of
all denominations. Specie currency was almost entirely out of circulation,
having been supplanted by private bills, worthless bank notes, and all
other kinds of "shin plasters." This sort of currency was the occasion of
innumerable disasters; all confidence was destroyed in the community, and
pecuniary transactions were of course limited. The scarcity of silver was
the subject of much merriment as well as the cause of grievous distress.
At one time a specie Spanish dollar is advertised as a curiosity, and the
citizens are invited to witness an exhibition of it; at another, a
merchant promises to show, gratis, four silver Spanish coins to all who
will call and purchase at his store. The tradesmen generally, however,
took a more serious view of the matter; and on the 29th August, 1816,
called upon the Merchants and Mechanics of the town "to assemble at the
Union Hotel on Saturday afternoon at 6 P. M., to take into consideration
the measures necessary to be adopted to check the circulation of private
bills, &c." The result of this meeting, however, never transpired; and as
the shin-plaster currency continued its baleful operations for many years
afterward, it is to be supposed that the Merchants and Mechanics of
Louisville either could not concert, or could not execute the aforesaid
"necessary measures."

Notwithstanding, however, all the disadvantages accruing from this state
of disordered currency, the year did not pass by without adding another to
the increasing list of manufactories in the town. This other was an
immense distillery, organized by a company formed in New England, and
incorporated by the legislature of this State. It was called the "Hope
Distillery," and had a capital of $100,000 dollars, with the liberty of
increasing it to double that amount. This Company purchased one hundred
acres of ground at the lower end of Main street, opposite to the
commencement of Portland Avenue, and erected immense buildings thereon,
intending to conduct their business on a more extensive scale than any
before established in the United States. This enormous establishment
however did not realize the expectations of its proprietors, and the
project was abandoned. The buildings remained almost tenantless and
useless for many years. They were finally burned.

As if to counterbalance the prospective evil likely to be produced by this
enormous manufactory of "poison for soul and body," there was established
about the same time the first Presbyterian Church in Louisville. It was
organized by exactly sixteen members, but it was not until the next year
that a building was erected for them. The acts of the legislature of this
year also incorporated a Louisville Library Company.

The account of the year 1816 will be closed with an extract from the
travels of Mr. Henry Bradshaw Fearon, the title-page of whose book
represents him as deputed by thirty-nine English families to ascertain
whether any or what parts of the United States would be agreeable to them
as a future residence. His account of the town is of course honest, so far
as he is concerned, and unprejudiced, and as such is entitled to its share
of consideration. At any rate he treats the subject more in detail than
most foreign travelers have done. He says: "Having been twice in
Louisville, I boarded at both hotels; Allen's Washington Hall, and
Gwathing's [Gwathmey's] Indian Queen. They are similar establishments, and
both on a very large scale; the former averages 80 boarders per diem; and
the latter 140. The hotels are conducted differently here from those with
which you are acquainted. The place for washing is in the open yard, where
there is a large cistern, several towels, and a negro in attendance. The
sleeping rooms commonly contain from 4 to 8 bedsteads, having matresses
upon them, but frequently no feather beds, sheets of calico, two blankets
and a quilt, (either a cotton counterpane or a patchwork quilt.) The
bedsteads have no curtains, and the rooms are generally unprovided with
any conveniences. The public rooms are the news room, boot room, in which
the bar is situated, and the dining room. The fires are generally
surrounded by parties of six, who get and keep possession of them. The
usual custom is to pace up and down the bar room as people walk the deck
at sea. Smoking cigars is practised by all without exception, and at every
hour of the day. Argument is of rare occurrence, and social intercourse
seems still more unusual. Conversation on general topics, or the taking
enlarged or enlightened views of things rarely occurs; each man is in
pursuit of his own individual interest, and follows it in an
individualized manner. But to return to the taverns; at half past seven
o'clock the first bell rings for collecting the boarders; at eight the
second bell rings, breakfast is then set, the dining room is unlocked, a
general rush commences, and some activity as well as dexterity is
essentially necessary to obtain a seat at the table. A boy, as clerk,
attends to take down the names, in order that when the bills are settled
no improper deduction should be made. The breakfast consists of a profuse
supply of fish, flesh, and fowl, which is consumed with a rapidity truly
extraordinary. Often before I had finished my first cup of tea, the room,
before crowded to suffocation, was empty. The dinner which takes place at
2 o'clock, and the supper which is eaten at six is conducted in the same
manner as the breakfast. At table there is no conversation and no
drinking. The latter is effected by individuals taking their solitary
eye-openers, toddy, or phlegm dispersers at the bar, the keeper of which
is in full employ from sunrise till bed-time which is always at ten
o'clock. Liquor here is never drunk _neat_ or with sugar and warm water."

Speaking of the society of Louisville, the same Mr. Henry Bradshaw Fearon
takes it upon himself to say: "I do not feel myself competent to confirm
or to deny the general claim of the people of this town to generosity and
warmth of character. Of their habits I would also wish to speak with equal
diffidence, [and here is a proof of it!] but that they drink a great deal,
swear a great deal, and gamble a great deal, is very apparent to a very
brief resident. There is a great lack of amusement in Louisville; the
only one I saw was called 'Gander Pulling,' which is thus conducted. Tie a
live gander to a tree or pole and grease its neck, then ride past at full
gallop, and he who succeeds in pulling off the head of the victim,
receives the victory, the reward of which is the body of the gander. I
think I have heard of a similar _pastime_ as practiced in Holland. But
these," generously adds Mr. Henry Bradshaw Fearon, "are not to be taken as
unmixed characteristics."

By dint of great exertions on the part of the inhabitants of the town,
they at last succeeded in procuring the location of a branch bank of the
United States at this point. This bank was opened in 1817 under the
auspices of the following gentlemen: Stephen Ormsby, President; Wm.
Cochran, Cashier; G. C. Gwathmey, Teller; Alfred Thruston, First
Bookkeeper; Thomas Bullitt, D. L. Ward, Richard Furguson, M. D., Norburn,
B. Beale, Thomas Prather, John H. Clark, Henry Massie, Charles S. Todd,
Wm. S. Vernon, James C. Johnson, M. D., John Gwathmey and James D.
Breckinridge, Directors. It was situated at the north-east corner of Fifth
and Main Streets. This bank does not however seem to have been more
agreeable to the citizens than were its predecessors. "It is very
evident," says the first historian of the city, "that the people of this
country are ruining themselves by banking institutions as fast as they
cleverly can." The history of this bank does not present any different
features from that of its sister branches.

The next important event in this year was the building of the Presbyterian
Church. This edifice was erected on the west side of Fourth Street,
between Market and Jefferson, on the north-west corner of the alley. It
was a neat, plain, but spacious building. The interior was divided into
three rows of pews, and was furnished with galleries on three sides; the
exterior was brick, and was adorned with a steeple in which was a belfry
and a superb bell. Its first pastor was Rev. D. C. Banks. This church was
destroyed by fire in 1836. All who were residents in the city at that time
will remember this conflagration. The building took fire in the evening
during a meeting of the church. The efforts of the citizens to preserve it
from destruction were energetic and continued, but unavailing. When it was
found that it was no longer possible to save the building, all efforts
were directed toward the preservation of the bell. This splendid
instrument, the first large bell ever in the city, was esteemed and
venerated to a degree far beyond that which is usually felt for inanimate
objects; it had a hold upon the affections of all ages, sexes and classes
of people, as well the inhabitants as those who visited the city
periodically. It was used to announce all public tidings, whether of
meetings, fires, or deaths. Its clear and silvery notes were heard for
miles around, and brought joy, or terror, or wo to a thousand hearts; all
within the sound of its mighty tongue had learned to know and love its
voice; and now, that its destruction was threatened, a thousand hearts
thrilled with fear of its loss or throbbed with hope of its salvation.
Still the devouring element crept on apace, and still, like the old
sacristan of Saint Nicholas, stood the ringer at his post, and still went
on the loud clanging alarum of the bell. Soon the pillars which supported
the dome of the belfry were wrapt in sheets of flame, but the alarm peal
still rang on as if the imprisoned monster was yet undespairing, and cried
aloud "to the rescue!" Then the falling timbers and flakes of fire drove
the ringer from his post. For a while the bell still pealed on "in a
clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire," till at last the wheel on
which it hung was wrapped in flames. Then came its despair, and as spoke
after spoke burnt from the wheel, it slowly tolled--tolled its own
death-knell; heedless it was of the brilliant coruscations of flame that
fell in showers around it, as the covering of the dome broke from its
fastenings and shot upward in the light and then fell, leaving a train of
fire to mark its path; heedless of the soaring flames, of the upgazing
crowd; thinking only of its approaching dissolution. Slowly and solemnly
it tolled the funeral knell, and with the last stroke of its hammer, and
the last dazzling off-shoot from the dome, tower, bell, and dome all came
down with a tremendous crash. The crowd had ceased to work, had ceased to
speak; all eyes were upon the self-ringing bell, and all felt the poetic
power and beauty of the incident. And now that it was fallen, no single
voice sent up the hurrah, no rude sound desecrated the moment. The engines
again began their combat, and all went on as before. The bell was the next
day exhumed from its bed and carried away by piecemeal to be kept as
relics of the incident of its death-struggle.

The second event of this year was the incorporation of a hospital company
which consisted of twelve prominent citizens, who were authorized to
obtain a sum not exceeding $50,000, to be applied to this purpose. Mr.
Thos. Prather contributed five, and Mr. Cuthbert Bullitt two acres of land
as a site for the institution. This establishment was supported by a duty
of two per cent, on auction sales in Louisville. Its interests are fully
set forth in the wretchedly written preamble of the act incorporating it,
which is as follows:

"Whereas it is represented, that of those engaged in navigating the Ohio
and Mississippi rivers, many persons, owing to the fatigue and exposure
incident to long voyages, become sick and languish at the town of
Louisville, where the commerce in which they are engaged sustains a pause,
occasioned by the falls of the Ohio river; that the charity of the
citizens of that town and county is no longer able to minister to those
poor unfortunate persons, the support and attention which the necessities
of the latter, and the humanity of the former would seem to demand and
prescribe; that the growing character of Louisville, as a place as well of
import as of export, and the growing commerce of this State and of the
western country connected with that place threatens to throw an increased
mass of sick upon the citizens of that town and country, to the comfort
and support of whom the resources subject to the exactions of charity
would be unequal, and applied as individual sympathy might dictate,
unavailing; and that it would be wise and humane to incorporate an
institution at that place, for the relief, sustenance, comfort and
restoration of the poor and the afflicted of the description aforesaid:
Wherefore, &c." In 1811, the Legislature made a donation of $10,000, and
in 1822 a similar gift of $7,500 to this hospital. It is now in the hands
of the city, and is used as a clinique by the medical schools here. The
original building yet stands, but has been remodeled and improved.

In this year the small-pox made fearful ravages in the town, and, "owing,"
as Dr. McMurtrie says, "to the slothful negligence of the civil
authorities, it was impossible to prevent its innoculating the place for
several years."

The last incident which will be mentioned in connection with this year was
a dinner given on the 27th of April, 1817, to Capt. H. M. Shreve, as a
testimony of the consideration in which he was held as a steamboat
navigator, and particularly with a view to congratulate him on the very
expeditious voyage he had performed from Louisville to New Orleans and
back. This voyage was made by the steamer Washington, and, as will be seen
by reference to the list of steamboats published in the earlier part of
this volume, was performed in the very brief period of _forty-five days_!
Capt. De Hart was also invited to partake of this dinner, the committee
assuring him of their highest respect, and that they would have been early
to make him public testimonials of this respect but for fear that it would
be construed into a countenance of the course the concern to which he was
attached, has been, and is pursuing. Reference is here had to the Fulton
and Livingston Company, who were still seeking to monopolize the
navigation of the western rivers. Mr. Norborn B. Beale was President, and
Maj. C. P. Luckett Vice President, on this occasion. The Committee of
Invitation consisted of J. Headington, Levi Tyler and Jas. A. Pearce.
Toasts were drunk to several of the Presidents, to the 19 United States,
to the Ohio and Mississippi, to the State of Louisiana, to New York, to
Fulton, Shreve, De Hart and others. The following toast shows that
Louisville had yet some fears of the rivalry of her neighbors: 12th. "_Our
Sister-towns of Lexington and Frankfort_--let us have equal privileges in
a fair competition, that local advantages and individual enterprise may
insure pre-eminence." It is said that at this dinner, Mr. Shreve predicted
that a trip from New Orleans to Louisville would be effected in ten or
twelve days, but this was looked upon rather as the dream of an enthusiast
than as the sober calculations of a sagacious man. Mr. Shreve, however,
and many of his hosts lived to see the prediction more than fulfilled.

The earliest event in the next year which deserves notice here, was the
death of General George Rogers Clarke. The remains of this distinguished
man, who was so intimately connected with the earlier history of
Louisville, were interred at his residence at Locust Grove on the 15th
February, 1818. The members of the bar and a large assemblage of persons
attended. Rev. Mr. Banks officiated on the occasion, and John Rowan, Esq.,
delivered the funeral oration. Minute guns were fired during the ceremony
under the direction of Capt. Minor Sturgus, and the whole procession was
conducted in a very solemn manner. The members of the bar of the Circuit
Court, and the few remaining officers of the revolution in the
neighborhood, resolved to wear crape on the left arm for thirty days, as a
testimony of respect to the deceased hero. The spot where his remains now
rest is yet unmarked by a stone.

We are enabled to present the reader with a price current published during
this year. No document could be offered which would give a more definite
idea of the state of commerce at this period. It is as follows:

  BAGGING--30c.
  COTTON--33@35c.
  WHEAT--60@75c.
  COFFEE--35@37c. No demand--scarce.
  TEAS--$2 25@2 50.
  WHISKY--62@75c.
  GLASS--8x10, $14@15.
  WHITE LEAD--$6.
  CORN--42@62.
  MOLASSES--$1 50.
  TOBACCO--$4 75@5.
  SUGAR--16@18c.
  OATS--42@50c.

FREIGHTS.

  Tobacco, 1c per lb.
  Flour, $1 50 per bbl.
  Pork and Whisky, $2 per bbl.
  Light Freight, 6c per lb.
  Heavy Freight, 4-1/2c per lb.

By the assessment of this year the value of lots in the town is computed
at $3,131,463.

About the 24th of November, Louisville boasted another Bank. This was the
Commercial Bank of Louisville. Its officers were: Levi Tyler, President;
Abijah Bayless, Cashier; J. C. Blair, Clerk. Its paper is said by Dr.
McMurtrie, to have been in as good credit as that of the United States
Bank. Its capital is computed by him at $1,000,000. More recent accounts
however, do not speak so favorably of its affairs.

On the 1st of July, still of this year, Mr. S. Penn commenced the
publication of the Public Advertiser here; a paper which for editorial
talent and skill, as well as for political influence, has been equalled by
few and exceeded by none in the United States.

In 1819, Dr. McMurtrie, of whom mention has been so often made in these
pages, published his Sketches of Louisville. That part of his book which
refers directly to the city is comprised in about one hundred pages. The
whole book however contains about two hundred and fifty pages, 16mo; it
was published by Mr. S. Penn, and is a very creditable specimen of the art
of book-making. The greater part of the volume is filled with scientific
researches, and in an appendix there is placed an account of the
earthquakes by Jared Brooks, Esq. There is also a scientific catalogue of
the plants found in the vicinity of the city, and a history of the
geological and antiquarian remains of this part of the country. Of the
value of this information in a scientific point of view, we are not
prepared to speak; the "Sketches" present, doubtless a very correct view
of Louisville, as it was in 1819. Notwithstanding this book has been so
often drawn upon for isolated facts in the course of this history, it will
not be considered unfair to offer the reader still another extract,
showing a sort of daguerreotype view of the city as it then was; and this
will be the more pardonable as the book itself is no longer "in print."
Dr. McMurtrie says: "There are at this time in Louisville six hundred and
seventy dwelling houses, principally brick ones, some of which would
suffer little by being compared with any of the most elegant private
edifices of Philadelphia or New York. It was calculated pretty generally
that from two hundred and fifty to three hundred brick buildings would
have been erected during the last summer, but such was the scarcity of
money, that not more than twelve to fourteen were completed; preparations,
however, are making to proceed rapidly in the business in the ensuing
season, the influx of strangers being so great, that many of them can
scarcely find shelter. The population now amounts to 4500 souls; so rapid
is the increase of this number that in all probability, it will be trebled
in less than ten years.

"Commercial cities of all newly settled countries, whose inhabitants are
gathered from every corner of the earth, who have immigrated thither with
but one single object in view, that of acquiring money, are stamped with
no general character, except that of frugality, attention to business, and
an inordinate attachment to money. Absorbed in this great interest of
adding dollar upon dollar, no time is devoted to literature or the
acquirement of those graceful nothings which, of no value in themselves,
still constitute one great charm of polished society. Such is the
character of the inhabitants of this place in general, 'ma ogni medaglio
ha il suo reverso.' There is a circle, small 'tis true, but within whose
magic round abounds every pleasure that wealth, regulated by taste, or
urbanity can bestow. There the 'red heel' of Versailles may imagine
himself in the emporium of fashion, and whilst leading beauty through the
mazes of the dance, forget that he is in the wilds of America. The
theater, public and private balls, a sober game of whist, or the more
scientific one of billiards, with an occasional re-union of friends around
the festive board, constitute the principal amusements; and it is with
pleasure I am able to assert, without fear of contradiction, that gaming
forms no part of them. Whatever may have been the case _formerly_, there
is hardly at the present day, a vestige to be seen of this ridiculous and
disgraceful practice; and if it exists at all, it is only to be found in
the secret dens of midnight swindlers, within whose walls once to enter
is dishonor, infamy, and ruin."

The prices of lots at this time were about $300 per foot for those
occupying the best situations.

The following list if compared with the similar one for 1815, published a
few pages earlier, will give the reader a very correct idea of the ratio
of progress here for four years. There were at this time in Louisville:

  3 Banks,
  3 Bookstores,
  1 Nail Factory,
  2 Hotels,
  10 Blacksmiths,
  8 Tailors,
  3 Watchmakers,
  1 Stone Cutter,
  4 Turners,
  30 Plasterers,
  12 Lawyers,
  6 Brickyards,
  2 Breweries,
  1 Music store,
  36 Wholesale & Retail Stores,
  3 Printing Offices,
  28 Groceries,
  4 good Taverns,
  6 Saddlers,
  1 Silver Plater,
  10 Cabinetmakers,
  1 Upholsterer,
  5 Hatters,
  6 Shoemakers,
  22 Physicians,
  1 Air Foundry,
  2 Steam Saw Mills,
  5 Tobacco Factories,
  14 Wholesale & Com'n Stores,
  3 Drugstores,
  2 Confectioner's Shops,
  6 Bakehouses,
  2 Carriagemakers,
  1 Gunsmith,
  3 Chair Factories,
  1 Potter,
  200 Carpenters,
  150 Bricklayers,
  1 Brass Foundry,
  1 Steam Engine Factory,
  2 Distilleries,
  1 Sugar Refinery.

We find by an advertisement in the Courier of February 12th, in this year,
that J. J. Audubon, the world-renowned ornithologist, was at that time
endeavoring to procure a class in drawing, and was offering to paint
portraits here, which his advertisement promises shall be "strong
likenesses." This gentleman was for some time a resident of this city. His
son was for many years employed as a clerk in the store of Mr. N. Berthoud
at Shippingport.

On the 23d of June, 1819, the President of the United States and suite,
accompanied by Gen. Jackson and suite, arrived in Louisville, where they
remained until the following Saturday. A public dinner and a ball was
given to these distinguished persons, and general hilarity and good
feeling distinguished the occasion.

This chapter, as well as the history of this year will be concluded with a
string of rhymes which, though not highly meritorious in themselves, still
serve to show the feelings of the people in regard to the much-talked-of
apathy of their rulers, and let us into the history of the times as fully
as would the graver chroniclers. These versicles are said to be extracts
from a letter.

  "You know I informed you when I landed here,
  This town was not handsome, and living darned dear,
  The streets were all ponds, and I'm told the Trustees
  Had sooner wade thro' them, quite up to the knees,
  Than incur the expense to have them drained off.
  Complain to their honors, they sneer, laugh or scoff,
  And say, we've no money; and you very well know,
  Without this intercessor the mare will not go.

         *       *       *       *       *

  'Tis whispered about, how true I shan't say,
  The people's oft taxed, and always made pay;
  And who handles the cash? the Lord only knows,
  Or what road it travels--for what, it all goes--
  Is a mystery to all; no improvements they see,
  'Tis sarcastically said, there never will be.
  If the great men of fortune don't aid or direct
  The improvement of town, it will ne'er take effect.
  Alas, these poor souls, if they secure their own health,
  Let us wallow in _mud_, while they're rolling in wealth!
  Could you see these _great folks_, I protest you would laugh,
  And swear on each _body_ stuck the head of a calf.
  I'd say you were right--with hearts hard as a stone;
  When applied to for _alms_ or asked for a _loan_.

         *       *       *       *       *

  Before I left home, one night at aunt Kate's
  A confab we had concerning new States,
  I then said what since to my sorrow proved true,
  When settled in old States never emigrate to new,
  You called me false prophet, said to Louisville hie,
  Which for beauty and commerce would with Boston soon vie,
  And moreover you said a _great man_ I could be,
  If I'd take for my text: boys, huzza, we're all free.

  Dear sir, how you erred, Kentucky's quite changed;
  If you say here, we're free, folks vow you deranged,
  For our keen wealthy Yankees located here,
  Rule the natives by art, it cannot be fear;
  For I've seen them so rave, curse and swear so uncivil;
  'Twould shake '_steady habits_' quite as much as the d----l.

         *       *       *       *       *

  Now you'll own without money man _here_ has less chance
  Than Don Quixote in combat, deprived of his lance.




CHAPTER VI.


The next ten years of this history do not promise to be as rich in
incident for the historian, or as full of practical value to the city, as
were the few years just chronicled. A number of causes were operating at
this time to retard the prosperity of the town, and but for the vigor with
which it was endued, it must have sunk under the misfortunes which
surrounded it. Evil reports, prejudicial to its health; garbled accounts
from rival cities of the mortality here; a lamentably disordered state of
currency, a Board of Trustees whose inefficiency was constantly complained
of, were all opposing the growth of the town; and had it not, as has been
before said, inherently possessed the elements of its own progress, it
must have faded, and might have been entirely destroyed by the pressure of
these untoward circumstances. For about two years the western country had
been laboring under the operations of shaving and brokerage; there was not
at this time a single bank west of the mountains whose paper could be
passed at a fair value, except in the immediate neighborhood of the bank
itself, and there were not more than three or four that pretended to pay
their notes in money. The paper of the Bank of Kentucky was at a discount,
and there was no hope of its improving. Tennessee and Ohio were in a
similar, if not a worse condition. The paper of the United States Bank was
alone merchantable at its value, and upon Louisville, as the great
commercial mart of the western country, must these circumstances weigh
most heavily. Despite all these disadvantages, however, the town did
progress, not so rapidly as its past course would have promised, but with
a rational and steady improvement. One of the drawbacks mentioned above
was beginning to be removed. The new Trustees of the town began to
prosecute their measures of improvement with some degree of energy. Wells
were dug; pavements laid; streets graded; ponds drained; and a general
activity prevailed which showed some attention toward making the town more
desirable as a residence, both in point of comfort and of health. The
removal of the causes oL disease, however, could not be instantaneous, and
even if they had been it would have required time to convince those
disposed to emigrate hither of the fact.

The first act of the Trustees in the year 1820 was to order the purchase
of two or three fire-engines. Conflagrations had recently become of not
uncommon occurrence, and the means for combating them were so few in
number, and so incompetent in character, that this measure had become
entirely necessary to the safety of the town. Accordingly, Thomas Prather,
Cuthbert Bullitt and Peter B. Orsmby were appointed a committee to
purchase suitable fire-engines for the use of the city. This being done,
the town was laid off into three wards, and Coleman Daniel, Daniel
McAllister and Peter Wolford were appointed, one to each ward, to obtain
each 40 members to work these engines. These members were to elect each a
Captain of the engine and such other officers as might be necessary, and
to adopt rules for their own government. Public cisterns, or other like
conveniences for the use of firemen, were then unknown. Each citizen was
required to keep two or more leather fire-buckets on his premises, while a
larger number of the same were kept at the engine houses. These were taken
to the fire, and two lines of men formed from the engine, which was
stationed near the fire, to the nearest water. One of these lines was
occupied in passing buckets filled with water, which, when they arrived at
the engine, were poured into it; and the other in passing back the empty
buckets to be refilled, it was by this tedious process alone that they
were enabled successfully to combat a fire.

Although tables of various sorts, showing the progressive increase of the
town, have been from time laid before the reader, yet the events of
thirteen years have been passed over without offering to his inspection
that most conclusive of documentary evidence, the tax list. It may be
remembered that the assessment of 1807 amounted to $913 50. The following
list for 1821 will give a clear idea of the increased value of property
since that time.

VALUATION OF GROUND AND IMPROVEMENTS, $1,189,664 00.

  Assessed Taxes on same                   $4,637 68
  On 14 1st rate Retail Stores at $30         420 00
     24 2d   "     "      "       $20         540 00
      7 3d   "     "      "       $10          70 00
     26 Tavern Licenses           $10         260 00
     70 Carriage Wheels           50c          35 00
      2 Billiard Tables           $17          34 00
                                            --------
              Total                        $5 996 68

The following is a census of the population, taken at this period:[12]

  Free white males to 10 years of age         346
     "         "      10 to 16                152
     "         "      16 to 26                498
     "         "      26 to 45                707
     "         "      45 and upwards          121
                                             ----1324

  Free white females to 10 years of age:      356
     "         "        10 to 16              132
     "         "        16 to 26              273
     "         "        26 to 45              232
     "         "        45 and upwards         69
                                             ----1062
                                                 ----
        Total White Population                   1886
  Blacks, including free persons of color        1126
                                                 ----
        Total                                    4012
  Of whom there are engaged in Commerce       128
     "         "       "       Manufactures   591
  Foreigners                                   94

On the 3d of March in this year Mr. Nicholas Clarke associated with him,
in the publication of the Western Courier, Messrs. S. H. Bullen and A. G.
Merriweather. After this period the name of the paper was changed to The
Emporium and Commercial Advertiser, and it was issued semi-weekly instead
of weekly. This connection, however, was not of long duration, for in
February '22, Messrs. Clarke & Merriweather left the establishment,
transferring their interest to Mr. Bullen and Mr. F. E. Goddard. The paper
finally came into the hands of this latter gentleman alone, and its
publication was stopped while under his management. Mr. Goddard will be
remembered by most of the citizens of Louisville. He was the preceptor of
a great many of the younger men now here, and was universally beloved and
respected. His genial humor, his extraordinary scholarship and his fine
qualities of heart made him the admiration of his friends, while his
faithful discharge of all his duties and his firm and unwaving efforts to
improve the minds and morals of his numerous pupils, cause them to respect
his memory, and call forth alike their gratitude and their veneration. No
man has ever occupied Mr. Goddard's position who enjoyed more universally
or more meritedly the regard of his fellow citizens.

In May, still of this year, a branch bank of the Commonwealth was located
here. From an article in the Emporium it would seem that this bank was
established without one dollar of specie capital and hence its notes were
sold at very large rates of discount. The paper of this bank and that of
the Bank of Kentucky formed almost the only currency at the time, and as
merchants, in order to pay their calls abroad, were obliged to buy specie
or Eastern funds at a great advance, they naturally enough refused these
bills at par value. This seems to have been a grievous trouble to the
management of the bank at Frankfort, and it was suggested by them that the
Legislature should remove the branch established here to "some other
situation where love of country, love of truth and love of general
prosperity might overcome the combinations of the weak and wicked." This
removal, however, was not effected.

It was also during this year that a night watch was established, who were
paid by a subscription of the citizens and not from the treasury of the
town. B. Morgan, C. Sly and M. Woolston were the first persons elected to
this office.

1822--The first event of the next year was the authorization by the
Trustees of the issue of town notes, varying in denomination from twelve
and a half cents to one dollar, the aggregate value of all of which was
not to exceed four thousand dollars. These notes, however, did not meet
with the usual fate of the shinplaster currency, for in about a year
afterward we find an order of the Trustees for counting and destroying
them, leaving the impression either that they were not put into
circulation or were redeemed and so withdrawn from a market already
glutted with such trash.

It was during the year 1822 that the town was visited by a dreadful
epidemic. Dr. John P. Harrison, late of Cincinnati and formerly of this
city, a physician of distinguished ability, has published a minute and
highly valuable account of this epidemic in the Philadelphia Medical
Journal, Vol. 8. The disease was a highly aggravated bilious fever, so
terrible as to deserve the dreaded name of yellow fever. The mortality was
very great and the alarm existing on account of it throughout the whole
interior of the neighboring States was of the most exciting character. The
season was an unhealthy one throughout the West, but the scourge fell most
heavily upon Louisville, probably on account of the miasma from her many
ponds. The scourge here, as Dr. Drake says in his valuable history of the
diseases of the Valley of North America, amounted almost to depopulation.
The Trustees were by it awakened from their lethargy. A Board of Health,
consisting of Drs. Gait, Smith, Harrison, Wilson and Tompkins, were
appointed to examine into the causes of disease and report the same to the
Trustees, together with the mode or practicability of removing the same.
This first Board of Health was appointed too late. Had they been ordered
to examine into this matter years before, much might have been effected,
but the time for such action was now passed, and this fearful malady, now
inevitable, became the most terrible blow ever given to the prosperity of
the rising town. The news spread far and wide, and the neighboring towns,
instead of seeking to publish only the truth, assisted largely in
circulating garbled intelligence and extravagant reports of a fact which
tended to their advantage by destroying the fair fame of their rival.
Emigrants from abroad as well as from this and neighboring States, for
years afterward, dreaded even to pass through the town, and of those who
had already determined to locate here, many were dissuaded from their
purpose by the assertion that it was but rushing upon death to make the
attempt. This occurred, too, just at a period when the resources of the
town, beginning to develop themselves, were attracting the attention of
capitalists. It was this alone which gave a temporary semblance of
superiority to the neighboring towns, and, for a time, retarded the usual
prosperity of this. Had the feeling of alarm ceased with the disease, it
would have been less of a blow, but for years after it was referred to as
a warning against emigration hither.

The next two years present nothing of interest to the reader, save the
building in the winter of 1824-5 of an Episcopalian Church on Second
Street, between Green and Walnut, the present Christ's Church, the first
rector of which was the Rev. Mr. Shaw.

On the 8th of May, in the year 1825, Lafayette visited Louisville. His
reception here, as everywhere else, was enthusiastic in the extreme. The
Trustees of the city paid into the hands of John Rowan, the chairman of
the committee of arrangements for the reception, a considerable sum of
money, to be expended in such manner as the committee might direct for
this purpose. The resolution authorizing this expenditure was passed with
a single dissenting voice, that of _Richard Hall_. The meeting of
Lafayette with some of the old officers of the revolution, particularly
that with Col. Anderson, is said to have been extremely affecting. The
whole city turned out to receive this distinguished patriot; processions
were formed, arches erected, bevies of young girls strewed his pathway
with flowers and the whole town was a scene of festivity and rejoicing.
Whether the dissenting Mr. Richard Hall was with those who were thus
showing their sense of gratitude to him who had left home, country and
friends, and faced the thundering cannon's mouth to aid them in their hour
of direst peril, history does not tell us.

The Legislature of these years made very considerable additions to the
power of the Trustees; allowing them to borrow money on the credit of the
town, to purchase and hold real estate for erecting market-houses, wharfs,
&c., to levy a tax on exchange brokers, to tax hacks, drays, &c., to
appoint harbor and wharf masters, and make rules governing the lading and
unlading of vessels, to collect wharfage fees, to appoint inspectors of
flour, &c. The first use made of this new power was the purchase of ground
for a wharf. Rowan owned a slip of ground lying north of Water Street,
commencing at Second and terminating at Seventh Street. A similar slip,
lying between Seventh and Eighth streets, was already the property of the
city. This slip the city agreed to add to Rowan's, and also to pave the
whole as a wharf, using the stone in Rowan's quarry, situated on the
premises, and for the wharf so constructed they agreed to give to Rowan
and to his heirs _forever_, in semi-annual payments, one-half the receipts
of this wharf. They also agreed that, if at any time Gray's wharf, lying
east of Second Street, should be bought, both parties might unite in the
purchase and Rowan should receive as before one half the profits of the
entire wharf. This contract; made with but a single dissenting voice on
the part of the Trustees, that of Jeremiah Diller, must have been the
result of either a very low state of finances or of very injudicious
precipitation. Rowan's heirs, it is understood, now get but one fourth of
the wharfage, but even this would have been a sum better gained to the
city than lost by a want of proper judgment or foresight.

On the 12th of January, in this year, the Louisville & Portland Canal
Company was incorporated by an act of the Legislature, with a capital of
$600,000, in shares of $100 each, with perpetual succession. 3665 of these
shares were in the hands of about 70 individuals, residing in different
States, and the remaining 2335 shares belonged to the government of the
United States. In December contracts were entered into to complete the
work of the canal within two years for about $375,000, and the work was
actually commenced in March 1826. Many unforeseen difficulties retarded it
until the close of the year 1828. At this time the contractors failed, new
contracts were made at advanced prices, and the canal was finally opened
for navigation, December 5th, 1830. When completed, it cost about
$750,000. It is about two miles in length and is intended to overcome a
fall of twenty-four feet, occasioned by an irregular ledge of lime-stone
rock, through which the entire bed of the canal is excavated, a part to
the depth of 12 feet, overlaid with earth. There is one guard and three
lift locks combined, all of which have their foundation on the rock. One
bridge of stone 240 feet long, with an elevation of 68 feet to the top of
the parapet wall, and three arches, the centre one of which is
semi-elliptical, with a transverse diameter of 66, and a semi-conjugate
diameter of 22 feet. The two arches are segments of 40 feet span. The
guard lock is 190 feet long in the clear, with semi-circular heads of 26
feet in diameter, 50 feet wide and 42 feet high, and contains 21,775
perches of mason work. The solid contents of this lock are equal to 15
common locks, such as are built on the Ohio and New York canals. The lift
locks are of the same width with the guard lock, 20 feet high and 183 feet
long in the clear, and contain 12,300 perches of mason work. The entire
length of the walls from the head of the guard lock to the end of the
outlet lock is 921 feet. In addition to the amount of mason work above,
there are three culverts to drain off the water from the adjacent lands,
the mason work of which, when added to the locks and bridge, gives the
whole amount of mason work 41,989 perches, equal to about 30 common canal
locks. The cross section of the canal is 200 feet at top of banks, 50 feet
at bottom and 42 feet high, having a capacity equal to that of 25 common
canals; and if we keep in view the unequal quantity of mason work,
compared to the length of the canal, the great difficulties of excavating
earth and rock from so great a depth and width, together with the
contingencies attending its construction from the fluctuations of the Ohio
river, it may not be considered as extravagant in drawing the comparison
between the work in this, and in that of 70 or 75 miles of common
canaling.

In the upper sections of the canal, the alluvial earth to the average
depth of 20 feet being removed, trunks of trees were found, more or less
decayed, and so imbedded as to indicate a powerful current towards the
present shore, some of which were cedar, which is not now found in this
region. Several _fire-places_ of a rude construction, with partially burnt
wood, were discovered near the rock, as well as the bones of a variety of
small animals, and several human skeletons; rude implements formed of bone
and stone were also frequently seen, as also several well wrought
specimens of hematite of iron, in the shape of plummets or sinkers
displaying a knowledge in the arts far in advance of the present race of
Indians.

The first stratum of rock was light, friable slate in close contact with
the limestone, and difficult to disengage from it; this slate did not
however extend over the whole surface of the rock, and was of various
thicknesses from three inches to four feet.

The stratum next to the slate was a close compact lime stone, in which
petrified sea shells, and an infinite variety of coraline formations were
embedded, and frequent cavities of crystaline encrustations were seen,
many of which still contained petroleum of a highly fetid smell, which
gives the name of this description of lime stone. This description of rock
is on an average of five feet, covering a substratum of a species of cias
limestone of a bluish color, embedding nodules of horn stone, and organic
remains. The fracture of this stone has in all instances been found to be
irregularly conchoidal, and on exposure to the atmosphere and subjection
to fire it crumbled to pieces. When burnt and ground, and mixed with a due
proportion of silicious sand, it has been found to make a most superior
kind of hydraulic cement or water lime.

The discovery of this valuable lime stone, has enabled the canal company
to construct their masonry more solidly than any other known in the United
States.

A manufactory of this hydraulic cement or water lime is now established on
the bank of the canal, on a scale capable of supplying the United States
with this much valued material for all works in contact with water or
exposed to moisture; the nature of this cement being to harden in the
water, the grout used on the locks of the canal is already _harder_ than
the _stone_ used in their construction.

After passing through the stratum which was commonly called the water
lime, about ten feet in thickness, the workmen came to a more compact mass
of primitive grey limestone, which however was not penetrated to any great
depth. In many parts of the excavation, masses of bluish white flint and
horn stone were found enclosed in, or encrusting the fetid limestone. And
from the large quantities of arrow heads and other rude formations of this
flint stone, it is evident that it was made much use of by the Indians in
forming their weapons of war and hunting; in one place a magazine of arrow
heads was discovered, containing many hundreds of those rude implements,
carefully packed together, and buried below the surface of the ground.

The existence of iron ore in considerable quantities was exhibited in the
progress of excavation of the canal by numerous highly charged chalybeate
springs, that gushed out and continued to flow during the time that the
rock was exposed, chiefly in the upper strata of limestone.[13] The canal
when built was intended for the largest class of boats, but the facilities
for navigation have so far improved and the size of vessels increased so
far beyond the expectations of the projectors of this enterprise that it
is now found much too small to answer the demands of navigation. The
consequence is that the canal is looked upon as, equally with the falls, a
barrier to navigation. The larger lower-river boats refuse to sign bills
of lading, compelling them to deliver their goods above the falls, and as
this class of boats is increasing, it promises soon to be as difficult to
pass this point as before this immense work was completed. As previous to
the undertaking of this canal, so there are now numerous plans proposed
for overcoming the impediment; and these do not differ materially from
those suggested and noticed in 1804. The only ground upon which all
parties agree is, that whatever is done should be effected by the general
government, and not left to be completed by individual enterprise.

The government, as has before been said, owns a very large part of the
stock in this canal, say three-fifths, and it is strongly urged by a part
of the community that nothing would better serve the interests of western
navigation than a movement on the part of the United States, making it
free. The question of internal improvement is not within the province of
this history to discuss, but certainly a deaf ear should not be turned by
the general government to the united voice of so many of its children, all
alike demanding to be relieved from their embarrassments, and the more
particularly so, as it has already heard and answered the supplications of
a part of its numerous family. Any semblance of favoritism in a government
is a sure means of alienating the trust and affection of a part of its
dependants. Whatever means may be most advisable to effect the removal of
the impediment to navigation here should at once be adopted. And if the
opening of the canal freely to all could tend to effect this object, the
government has already had from it revenue sufficient to warrant it in
taking off the tax from navigation. Up to the year 1843, there had passed
through this canal, 13,776 steamboats, and 4701 flats and keels, making in
all 2,425,567 tons, the tolls of which amounted to $1,227,625 50. It
would not be an unfair calculation to rate the expenses of keeping up the
canal at $30,000 per annum, or $390,000 for the thirteen years above
referred to. Supposing the government to possess three-fifths of this
profit, it would amount to $502,575, or nearly enough to build a new
canal. It is not to be wondered at, then, that western people should feel
disposed to murmur at having these large sums of money taken from their
waters and applied to improving the Balize or Sandy Hook, or any other
distant part of the Union. And the matter is the more grievous when it is
remembered that these tolls are not only not free but are enormously and
disproportionately high. Whether laden or not, each boat is obliged to pay
at the rate of 50 cts per ton, in proportion to her capacity, as a toll!
The whole subject is one deserving immediate and earnest attention, as
involving interests in which not only Louisville, but the whole South and
West is intimately concerned.

With the next year--1826--we come to the establishment of another
newspaper here. This was called the Focus, and was edited by Dr. Buchanan,
assisted by Mr. W. W. Worsley, and published weekly by Morton & Co. It
contained a very large amount of reading matter on literary, scientific,
political and commercial subjects. It was violently anti-Jackson in
politics, but still found room in its columns for an unusual quantity of
interesting literary matter. It was conducted with great ability by these
gentlemen for a period of about three years, when, after the death of Dr.
Buchanan, it was sold to Messrs. J. T. Cavins and G. S. Robinson. It was
afterwards merged into the Louisville Journal, and placed, under the name
of the Journal and Focus, in the hands of Mr. Geo. D. Prentice, as editor.
This was in the year 1832. Since that time its history is too well known
wherever the knowledge of American newspapers has penetrated to need any
furthur notice here. It has been the lot of the gentleman who is at the
head of it, and who is distinguished alike as a poet and a politician, as
a wit and a sage, to wield an influence such as few men in any station
have ever exercised; an influence which is not only political but also
literary and social, and which has been exerted alike at the birth of a
true poet and at the death of a false patriot or a foolish politician.

By the census of the next year--1827--we find the population of Louisville
to have reached 7063, showing an increase of nearly double since 1821. The
attention of the people began now to be turned toward effecting an
incorporation of the town and placing themselves in a condition for
self-government, and accordingly on the 3d of November, of this year, a
very large meeting of the citizens was held at the court house for this
purpose, Levi Tyler having been appointed chairman and Garnett Duncan
secretary, the following resolutions were adopted:

1st. Resolved, That public convenience renders it important that we ask
for the passage of an act incorporating Louisville with its enlargements,
and giving a city court for the speedy punishment of crimes and the speedy
trial of civil suits.

2d. Resolved, That a committee of five citizens be appointed to draft an
act of incorporation and to submit the same at an adjournment of this
meeting.

3d. Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to confer with the
inhabitants of Shippingport and Portland, and the enlargements of
Louisville, and to request them to unite with us in this subject.

4th. Resolved, That we esteem the erection of a permanent bridge across
the Ohio river, at the most convenient point across the Falls, of the
greatest utility to the public, and calculated to enhance the commerce and
prosperity of our town, and that we respectfully solicit the legislature
of this State to incorporate a company with competent powers and capital
to effect the erection of such a bridge, and that the city of Louisville,
when incorporated, should be authorised to raise funds, by loan or
otherwise, and to subscribe for ---- dollars of stock in said company.

5th. Resolved, That a committee of seven be appointed to draft a charter
for that purpose, and that our representatives be requested to use their
best exertions to effect the passage of such charter.

Committee under the second resolution, Daniel Wurtz, Thos. Anderson, S. S.
Goodwin, S. S. Nicholas, Garnett Duncan.

Committee under the third resolution, J. H. Tyler, W. D. Payne, W. S.
Vernon.

Committee under the fifth resolution, J. H. Tyler, J. Guthrie, J. S.
Snead, J. I. Jacob, G. W. Merriweather, D. R. Poignard, Geo. Keats.

These committees having duly reported, their memorials were sent forward
to the legislature, and on the 13th day of February, 1828, the act of
incorporation passed and Louisville became a city. Portland had refused
to become annexed to the city as yet, but Shippingport had consented to
the compact. The act of incorporation defines the limits of the city as
follows: Beginning at the stone bridge over Bear Grass creek, near
Geiger's mills, thence on a straight line to the upper corner of Jacob
Geiger's land on the Ohio river, and thence by a straight line down the
Ohio river, so as to include Corn Island and the quarry adjacent thereto,
and thence to the upper boundary of Shippingport to the back line thereof,
and the same course continued until it intersects the back line of the
town of Louisville, when extended westwardly far enough to meet the said
line extending out from the river with the upper boundary of Shippingport,
thence from the said intersection to the south or back line of the present
town of Louisville, and with the said back line to the south fork of Bear
Grass creek, thence down the middle thereof to the beginning. The usual
powers of a municipal body were vested in a Mayor and City Council,
consisting of ten persons. The city was divided into five wards, each
entitled to two councilmen, who were to be elected annually. These
elections were to be held on the first Monday in every March. On election,
the Mayor and Councilmen were to take an oath of office and these oaths
were recorded. They were to choose a clerk annually, whose duty it should
be to keep a record of the proceedings of the board, sign all warrants
issued by them and to deliver over to his successor all books and papers
entrusted to him. Five Councilmen and the Mayor or six Councilmen should
constitute a quorum. The meetings of the board were to be public, and the
Mayor's salary should be fixed by the Councilmen. The Major was not
allowed any judicial authority in civil matters, but had the power of a
justice of the peace over slaves and free negroes, and similar powers to
require surety for good behavior and for the peace; and the power assigned
to two Justices of the Peace in committing criminal offenders and sending
them on for trial; he also had the casting vote in case of a tie in the
board over which he presided, but had no vote otherwise. The powers before
delegated to the Trustees were now vested in the Mayor and Council, and in
addition to these were granted power to prohibit the erection of wooden
buildings within certain limits, to erect suitable buildings for a poor
and work-house, to establish one or more free schools in each ward, to
elect all subordinate officers, and to pass by-laws with adequate
penalties for their infraction. The office of City Marshal was also
created by the act. He was to be chosen annually by the people, and, if
required by the Council, he was to have a resident deputy in each ward of
the city. His duties were to preserve order at all sessions of the Mayor
and Council, and to execute all processes emanating from the Mayor. He was
to be appointed City Collector and State Collector within the city. He was
to execute bond, with sufficient security, before the Mayor and Council,
to the State, for the performance of his duties, and a lien was retained
on all his lands and slaves, and on those of his sureties, for all sums of
money which came into his hands. He had the same powers and duties within
the city as a Sheriff and received the same fees. Not less than two
persons were to be voted for as Mayor, and the two having the highest vote
for this office were to be certified to the Governor, one of whom was by
him to be commissioned and submitted to the Senate for their advice and
consent. This charter was to be in force for five years from and after its
passage, and no longer, and upon the dissolution of the corporation, all
property was to revert to the Trustees of the town, to be chosen or
appointed as heretofore directed by law.

The first election under this charter was held on the fourth day of March,
1828. Mr. J. C. Bucklin was elected Mayor, by a small majority over Mr. W.
Tompkins, and W. A. Cocke was elected Marshal by a large majority. The
following gentlemen were elected Councilmen: Messrs. John M. Talbott, W.
D. Payne, G. W. Merriweather, Richard Hall, Jas. Harrison, J. McGilly
Cuddy, John Warren, Elisha Applegate, Daniel McAllister and Fred. Turner.
Samuel Dickinson was appointed Clerk.

A writer in the Focus, for January 20, 1829, gives an idea of the commerce
of Louisville in regard to certain leading articles at this period. He
says that "from 1st of January, 1828, to 1st of January, 1829, there were
received and sold in this place 4144 hogsheads of sugar and 8607 bags and
barrels of coffee, amounting in value to $584,681. He also fixes the
inspections of tobacco in Louisville at 2050 hhds. for 1826, 4354 hhds.
for 1827, and 4075 hhds. for 1828. The average price of these was, for
1826, $2 67, for 1827, $2 59, and for 1828, $1 98-1/3. The whole value of
these for the three years was $468,672 88. 1140 of these were shipped to
Pittsburg, 3048 to New Orleans, 320 manufactured here and 458 were
stemmed. In this article sugars are quoted at $7 04 to $7 02, by the
barrel, gunpowder tea at $1 20 to $1 25; and it also states that groceries
of all kinds can be had here at as cheap rates as they can be procured
either in New York or New Orleans. A writer in the Kentucky Reporter also
adds to this information the following statement: The store rooms of the
principal wholesale merchants are larger and better adapted to business
purposes than any to be found in the commercial cities of the East. Not a
few of them are from 100 to 130 feet in depth, by 30 feet wide, and from
three to four stories high, and furnished with fire proof vaults for the
preservation of books and papers in case of fire. The wholesale business
has increased very rapidly of late, perhaps doubled in the course of two
years. There has also been a proportionate increase in the shipping and
forwarding business. Mechanics of all sorts have full employment and good
wages."

An excellent criterion to judge of the commerce of a place and to show the
increase of its business, is its exchange operations. The following
statement of Domestic Bills of Exchange, derived from the official
documents of the bank of the U. S., being the amount on hand and unpaid on
the 1st January of each year, will give some idea of the amount and
increase of the business of Louisville:

  Jan. 1, 1826--Bills of Exchange on hand    $46,392
   "      1827,      "      "       "        108,287
   "      1828,      "      "       "        184,144
   "      1829,      "      "       "        350,354

The aggregate of business, as ascertained by a personal application and
inspection of the books of the principal houses, was ascertained to be
about $13,000,000.

On the 17th of September, in this year, the branch of the Commonwealth's
Bank was robbed of $25,000 in its own notes. The robbery took place before
9 o'clock in the evening. The door communicating with an entry was opened
by a false key, the iron chest quietly unlocked, the notes taken, and the
front door opened without any alarm being given. A reward of one thousand
dollars in specie was offered for the apprehension of the robber and also
a similar reward of $1500 for the recovery of the money. These rewards did
not, however, produce the desired result and neither the money nor the
robber was ever discovered.

During this year there was a secession of about fifty members from the
Methodist Episcopal church here, who formed and established the first
Methodist Reformed church. They constructed an edifice at the corner of
Green and Fourth Streets, of which Mr. N. Snethen was the pastor. This
church was afterwards used by the congregation of the First Presbyterian
church, was then sold to the negroes, and finally torn down to make room
for the immense Masonic Hall now being built on that spot.

The last event of this year which will be noticed here is the erection of
the first city school house. This building, still standing at the
south-west corner of Walnut and Fifth Streets, was then an extremely
creditable ornament to the city. It is capable of containing seven or
eight hundred pupils and is divided into a male and female department,
which are entirely distinct from each other. It was superintended by the
Mayor and six Trustees, annually chosen by the Council. The first board of
Trustees was composed of the following gentlemen: Jas. Guthrie, Jas. H.
Overstreet, Wm. Sale, Samuel Dickinson, F. Cosby and Dr. J. P. Harrison.
The standard of education pursued was as high as that of any private
school and the terms were only from one dollar to one dollar and a half
per quarter. The annual expense of this school to the city was $5,682.
Several equally large schools have been since erected and the system of
free-schools somewhat changed. These will be noticed at greater length in
another part of this history.




CHAPTER VII.


The opening of the next year--1830--found the young city in a highly
prosperous and thriving position. The security and permanence given to
enterprise by the charter had its effect on all departments of business.
Arrangements were made at the beginning of the season for the erection of
not less than five hundred substantial brick houses, and, according to the
report of a prominent resident of a sister city, there was not another
place in the United States which was improving and increasing in
population more rapidly than this. The number of inhabitants, as
ascertained by census, had reached 10,336, and was still rapidly
increasing. The friends of Louisville had every reason to congratulate
themselves upon her position. The pecuniary troubles which soon after
involved the place were not foreseen, and, with buoyant hopes and high
expectations, the citizens looked forward to a continuance of their
unexampled prosperity. How these hopes were wrecked and these expectations
reduced, the history of the next decade will show.

The first act to be noticed in connection with the city was an amendment
to the charter, which prevented the Council from borrowing or
appropriating money without the consent of a majority of their body. As
the project of a bridge over the Ohio was then talked of, and as the
Lexington and Ohio Railroad had been suggested, and the city in her
corporate capacity had been warmly urged to make large subscriptions of
stock to these enterprises, this provision was probably thought necessary
to prevent too great lavishness in expenditure.

The next event of the year was the organization of another Presbyterian
church under the Rev. Mr. Sawtell. It was commenced in April with 12
members who seceded from the First Presbyterian church. A building for
worship was erected on Third Street, between Green and Walnut, and the
church rapidly increased in numbers. It is at present in charge of Rev.
Dr. Humphrey.

The last circumstance to be noticed in this rapid sketch of the year 1830,
is the establishment of the Daily Journal by Prentice & Buxton, afterward
Prentice & Johnston, then Prentice & Weissinger, and finally Prentice &
Henderson. It was first published on an imperial sheet at $10 per annum.
Although commenced by an entire stranger, as Mr. Prentice then was, the
power of its articles and the exquisite vein of humor and irony displayed
in its columns, soon gave it such popularity, that, even before its union
with the Focus in 1832, it had risen to a firm and enviable position. In
December Mr. Edwin Bryant became an associate editor of the paper, but did
not remain in that position for more than six months. Soon after the
establishment of the Journal the newspaper war with the Advertiser, so
well remembered here and so widely known abroad as having given birth to a
fund of wit and of satire heretofore unparalleled in the annals of
newspapers, was commenced. Even the distant English journals had each
their column headed--"Prenticeana"--and the paper was sought after far
and near by every lover of fun or of humor in the land. It is to be
regretted that the shifting character of American politics has rendered so
many of the happiest of these allusions and witticisms obscure to the
unpolitical or to the distant reader; a collected volume of them would
else afford a delightful compendium for a leisure hour. To the older
resident of Louisville, it may be interesting to recall the commencement
of this long and hard-fought battle. Mr. Penn of the Advertiser, who had
deservedly maintained since 1819 the most prominent rank as an editor in
the West, was kind enough to furnish the Journal, at its commencement,
with all its exchanges. This favor is repeatedly acknowledged by the
Journal with great courtesy, but does not blind that paper to the fact
that it is about to be attacked by the opposite party. Whereupon, after
some time, the following article was published: "We assure the editor of
the Advertiser that we shall never under any circumstances covet a
personal controversy with him. We do not believe that his readers would be
willing to pay him $10 a year for dissertations upon our private
character, however bad it may be; and we are quite sure that ours would be
loth to pay that sum for daily disquisitions on him, whatever may be his
excellencies. We have due respect for the Jackson editors in the West, but
we trust to be believed when we say our respect is undebased by fear. We
prefer that they should accept our hand open and ungloved, but if they
would rather have it in the shape of a fist, it is still at their
service." The Advertiser, seeming to prefer it in the latter form,
hereupon commences anew its attack, when the war is opened in earnest by
the Journal, which, at the end of a somewhat long and rather tart
paragraph, let off in reply the following first _coup de canon_: "We
believe he (Mr. Penn) has not had an article since we came here that was
not made up of hints taken from the Journal. Well, we have one
consolation--'_he that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord_.'" This is
followed up by a series of well directed blows, which are vigorously
replied to till the eleventh or twelfth "round," when one of the parties
left the field, still, however, refusing to consider himself vanquished.

With the year 1831 came another amendment to the charter, which provides
that the real estate in Louisville and the personal estate of all persons
dying therein shall be subject to escheat to the Commonwealth, vested in
the Mayor and Council, for the use of public schools. Also that all fines
inflicted in Jefferson county shall be vested in the same manner, the fund
arising therefrom to be expended in the purchase of a lot and erecting
buildings thereon for said schools. It also provides that Jailor's fees
for commitments for offenses in Louisville shall be paid out of the city
fund. These amendments to the charter are so numerous and of such frequent
recurrence that we shall hereafter be content with a mere allusion to
them.

It was also during this year that the present bank of Kentucky was built,
with a view to the uses of the bank of the United States. A Louisville
Lyceum was also established under the patronage of some of the most
distinguished citizens of Louisville. This literary association continued
in being for several years but finally was obliged, like all its fellows,
to sink beneath the careless inattention of a purely commercial community.

In 1832 a new calamity came upon the city. This was an unparalleled flood
in the Ohio. It commenced on the 10th of February and continued until the
21st of that month, having risen to the extraordinary height of 51 feet
above low-water mark. The destruction of property by this flood was
immense. Nearly all the frame buildings near the river were either floated
off or turned over and destroyed. An almost total cessation in business
was the necessary consequence; even farmers from the neighborhood were
unable to get to the markets, the flood having so affected the smaller
streams as to render them impassable. The description of the sufferings by
this flood is appalling. This calamity, however, great as it was, could
have but a temporary effect on the progress of the city, as will be seen
hereafter.

On the 27th of May the first Unitarian church was dedicated. It is
situated at the corner of Walnut and Fifth streets, and was under the
direction of the Rev. Geo. Chapman, of Mass. The building of the
Louisville Hotel, and the issue of the first Directory ever printed here,
were also events of this period. This Directory was published by R. W.
Otis, and contains, beside much other valuable matter, a brief sketch of
the history of the city, from the pen of Mr. Mann Butler, the accomplished
historian of Kentucky. From it we get the following commercial table of
Imports from Dec. 1st, 1831, to Aug. 4th, 1832, which will prove
interesting to the reader of statistics:

  Bale Rope                26,830 coils.
  Bagging                  33,411 pieces.
  China, &c.                1,170 p'ckgs.
  Coffee                   18,289 bags.
  Cotton                    4,913 bales.
  Mackerel                 12,037 bbls.
  Salt, Kan. and Cone      16,729   "
  Salt, Turk's Island      18,146 bags.
  Tea                      63,500 lbs.
  Flour                    48,470 bbls.
  Hides                    19,121
  Iron                        631 tons.
  Lead                        231  "
  Molasses                  6,309 bbls.
  Nails                    10,395 kegs.
  Sugar, N. O.              7,717 hhds.
    "    Loaf               4,318 bbls.
  Tin Plate                 3,108 boxes.

The inspection of whiskey during this time amounted to 14,627 barrels.
This Directory also gives the following as the statistics of manufactures:

One steam woolen factory, employs 30 hands and consumes 25,000 pounds of
wool per annum.

One cotton factory, employs 80 hands and consumes 500 bales annually;
works 1,056 spindles.

Two potteries.

One steam grist mill.

Two foundries, employing together 155 hands and consuming 1,200 tons of
iron per annum.

Sixteen brick yards.

One steam planing mill, with two machines and two circular saws; planes,
tongues, grooves, &c., about 2,000 feet of boards to each machine per day.

Three breweries.

Two white lead factories consume 600 tons lead annually.

Four rope walks, which work up 600 tons of hemp per annum.

Passing on as rapidly as may be, we come first to the chartering of the
Bank of Louisville. The books were opened for subscription to this bank in
March, 1833, and closed on the third day, $1,500,000 having been
subscribed in that brief period. By the act of incorporation the capital
was fixed at $2,000,000, but the commissioners were allowed to close the
books at any time after $500,000 were subscribed. Each director was
required to take oath not to permit any violation of this charter.

The next event in order was another amendment to the city charter, which
provides that no street or alley can be laid out without consent of
Council--that a jury shall assess what damages shall be awarded, and what
paid by persons injured or benefitted by opening streets or alleys--that
it shall not be necessary for the Council to have alphabetical lists of
the voters made out, except for the tax collectors and judges of the
election--that those only shall be eligible to office who are
house-keepers or free-holders and have paid taxes the preceding year in
the city of Louisville--that the removal of a councilman from the ward in
which he was elected shall cause his office to be vacant, and that any
vacancy occurring either in this way or by resignation shall be sup-plied
by the Council out of the said ward.

A museum was opened here at this period by a number of gentlemen as
stockholders, under the direction of J. R. Lambdin; the collection of
objects of natural history, of curiosity, and of vertu was extremely good.
A Savings' Bank was also established during the year, under the direction
of Ed. Crow, President; and E. D. Hobbs, Treasurer.

The editor of a Frankfort paper, giving an account of his visit to
Louisville about this time, says: "Whoever visits this city leaves it with
the conviction that all the elements are at work, which must advance it to
a great commercial town, and urge it on till it has passed all the towns
of the Ohio in the race for supremacy." It is not to be wondered at that
the thriving appearance of the city at this time should have attracted the
attention and notice of strangers, and the more particularly as all the
neighboring towns and cities were now suffering from the visitations of
that dreaded and dreadful scourge, the Cholera, while Louisville hardly
knew of its presence. The causes of disease here had been in a great
measure removed, and notwithstanding the fears which the approach of the
plague had inspired in a city which had before suffered so severely from
contagion, the cholera passed lightly over it, not making sufficient
impression to produce any effect against its prosperity. This was the more
a cause of congratulation to the city as it afforded an opportunity to
prove the falsity of the reports prejudicial to its health, which were
still industriously circulated. But though exempt from this visitation,
the city did not pass another year without its share of calamity. The
government deposites which had heretofore been placed in the banks here
and used by them as banking capital, were now removed, and as a consequent
there arrived another disastrous period of pecuniary distress. This was so
severe as to call for a meeting of the citizens, which took place at the
court house in 1834, and the object of which was to memorialize the
government upon the subject of their troubles. Of this meeting, T.
Gwathmey was President, D. Smith and E. Crow, Vice Presidents, and C. M.
Thruston and F. A. Kaye, Secretaries. In the words of the memorial, "all
is gloom and despondence, all uncertainty and suspense, all apprehension
and foreboding. Prices here have fallen beyond any former example. Flour
has sunk from $4 to $3, or even $2 50 per barrel. Hemp, pork, and every
other commodity has decreased in an equal degree. Real property has fallen
in many instances 50 per cent. It is believed that there will not be
employment during the ensuing season for one-fourth of the mechanics and
working men of Louisville. Few contracts for building have been or are
likely to be made. In the opinion of the memorialists, the first remedy
for this state of things is the restoration of the deposites. They
therefore pray that the deposites be restored, and such measures taken in
relation to a National Bank as shall be most likely to afford relief to
the country." This crisis does not seem to have produced very disastrous
results here, but was probably more severe in anticipation than in
reality. It is even possible that, as political excitement ran very high,
and as this removal of the deposites was very obnoxious to one of the
political parties, that the evil was a foreboding induced by their own
fears, and of such a character as actually to produce a temporary
depression in business. And this opinion is supported by the fact that no
material change seems to have taken place in the onward progress of the
city. The policy and propriety of establishing water works had been for
some time under discussion, and in this year the city went so far as to
purchase a site for a reservoir on Main above Clay Street. This project
was very soon abandoned, but whether from the pressure of the times or
from the opposition of many of the citizens does not appear in any record
of the period. The incorporation and survey of two turnpike companies,
the Bardstown and Louisville, and Elizabethtown and Louisville, during the
same year, would however seem to incline us to believe that it was not
given up for the want of means. The state of affairs, even if as bad as
represented in the memorial, does not seem to have thrown a very deep or
settled gloom over the community; on the contrary an incident of the
period would seem to show a light-heartedness and freedom from care not
common in times of distress. This incident was the sudden appearance in
the streets of the city of a very singular procession, since known as the
_Comical Guards_. They were introduced as a burlesque of the militia
drills, then of biennial occurrence here. The procession was headed by an
enormous man, rivaling Daniel Lambert in his superabundance of flesh,
mounted on an equally overgrown ox, on whose hide was painted the
following descriptive motto, "_The Bull-works of our Country_." This
heroic captain also wore a sword of mighty proportions, on whose trenchant
blade was written in letters of scarlet the savage inscription, "_Blood or
Guts_!" This leader was followed by a band of equally singular character;
long men on short horses, little boys on enormous bony Rozinantes, picked
up from off the commons; men enclosed in hogsheads, with only head, feet
and arms visible; men encased even to helmet and visor in wicker-work
armour, and a thousand other knights of fanciful costume, and all marching
with heroic step to the martial clangor of tin pans, the braying of
milkhorns, the shrill sound of whistles, the piping of cat-calls, and the
ceaseless din of penny-trumpets and cornstalk fiddles. This procession
halted in its progress through the streets in front of the residences of
the officers of the militia, and after saluting them with a flourish of
music, made them a speech, and cheered them with a chorus of groans. After
marching bravely through the principal streets, this procession suddenly
disappeared from public view never again to greet the sunlight.

Toward the last of June, the news of the death of Lafayette reached the
city, and on the first of July a meeting was held, and resolutions passed
recommending the stores to be closed, and the day spent in exercises
suitable to the occasion. A procession, in which the trades and
professions were all represented, and which was the largest ever seen in
the city, was formed, and after passing through the principal streets,
stopped in the lot occupied by Mr. Jacob, where a eulogy was delivered by
Mr. M. R. Wigginton. All who had joined in the procession, wore crape on
the left arm for thirty days. The whole proceedings of the day were highly
creditable to the city, and highly worthy of the occasion. Another event
of the year was the establishment of a new paper called the Louisville
Notary and published weekly by D. C. Banks and A. E. Drapier. This paper
however never rose to any eminence in the city.

During 1833 and 1834 two new amendments had been made to the charter. One
of them authorizes some trifling change in the boundary of the city, and
the other allows the borrowing of money to erect Water-Works, and compels
the inspector of liquors to mark the degree of proof on the head of each
barrel. The next year--1835--also shows similar amendments: first,
requiring the valuation of property to be made on the 10th of January in
each year; second, authorizing the city marshall to collect his bills for
summoning juries; and third authorizing the city to subscribe for stock in
the Lexington and Ohio Railroad Company. This road was this year opened to
Frankfort. The building of the Galt House also dates from this period, as
does the first movement toward lighting the city with gas.

It will be recollected that in 1830 the population was given at 10,336, in
1835 it had reached by actual census 19,967, giving an increase of nearly
one hundred per cent, in less than five years! The Tax list for this year
will also show a similar increase:

  Real estate and Improvements valued at                 $10,425,446
  Personal Property                                          644,250
  Tythables, white and black, 4,960 at $150                    7,440
  34 1st rate stores at $80                                    2,720
  42 2d   "     "        60                                    2,520
  57 3d   "     "        40                                    2,880
  62 4th  "     "        20                                    1,240
  68 Hacks, 132 Drays, 53 Waggons, $4; 124 Carts $2            1,260
  50 Coffee-Houses at $50                                      2,500
  10 Taverns at $50                                              500
  60 Groceries and Spirits at $50                              3,000
  96 Spirits alone at 40                                       3,840
  20 Groceries alone, and 20 Confectioners at 15                 720

A table of the imports of the city has been so recently given, that it may
be more interesting to offer now a list of exports, for the six months
succeeding January 1st, 1835, which is as follows:

  Tobacco       1,337 hhds.
     "            114 boxes.
  Bacon     2,813,560 lbs.
  Tallow          149 bbls.
  Whisky       14,643 bbls.
  Flour        19,999  "
  Lard         60,713 kegs.
  Hemp             38 tons.
  Bagging      65,348 p's.
  Bale Rope    42,030 cls.
  Pork         14,419 bbl.
  Linseed Oil      72 bbl.

To this list may be added the amount of goods sold during the next
year--1836--by 47 of the largest wholesale dry good and grocery houses,
which is officially stated at $12,128,666 16. There were also built during
the summer of this latter year 110 stores and 114 dwelling houses, all of
the better class. Rents were steadily advancing on the stores, and "as for
dwellings it would be impossible to rent one, finished or unfinished. And
these improvements resulted from the natural advantages of the place, and
not from the completion of any of the works, to which the city had always
looked as the precursors of greatness." These statistics require no
additional demonstration to prove the progress of the town. The first
thing worthy of notice in this year was a ninth amendment to the charter,
which abolishes the Mayor's Court and establishes a Police Court in lieu
thereof. This court was to be a court of record; its judge to be appointed
as other judges, and to receive a salary of $1200. The prosecuting
attorney to be elected by the Council. The City Court, as far as it is a
Police Court, should always be open, and for the trial of pleas of the
Commonwealth, there were to be monthly terms of said court, to commence on
the first Monday in each month. It might summon grand juries. This act
also fixed the salary of the Mayor at $2,000, and compelled all insurance
offices to file with the Mayor a certified copy of their charters; it also
extended the city boundary 300 feet above Geiger's Ferry landing. Two more
newspapers were in this year added to the growing list of the city. The
first of these was the Louisville City Gazette, a daily, published by John
J. & Jas. B. Marshall; and the second, the Western Messenger, a monthly,
under the care of the Rev. J. F. Clark. This last was originally published
in Cincinnati, but was this year transferred to Louisville.

As will be remembered a motion had been made several years before this
time toward the erection of a bridge over the Ohio. This project had been
discussed from time to time ever since that period, and finally in this
year, the contracts were entered into and the corner stone of the bridge
was laid with all due ceremony, at the foot of Twelfth Street. The work
however never progressed beyond this, the contractor having failed to
perform his duty, beside which the next year brought with it by far the
most terrible calamity that had ever affected the city. The last few years
had been years of such unexampled prosperity; confidence had become so
thoroughly established, credit was so plenty, and luxury so courted, that,
when the unexpected reverse came, the blow was indeed terrible. On the
19th of April, the Banks of Louisville and of Kentucky suspended specie
payment, by a resolution of the citizens so authorizing them. Previous to
this, the Banks all over the country had stopped; another awful commercial
crisis had arrived, and one which Louisville felt far more severely than
she had felt the former. Instead of passing lightly over her, as before,
the full force of the blow was felt throughout the whole community. House
after house, which had easily rode out the former storm, now sunk beneath
the waves of adversity, until it seemed as if none would be left to tell
the sad story. A settled gloom hung over the whole mercantile community.
Main Street was like an avenue in some deserted city. Whole rows of houses
were tenantless, and expectation was upon the tiptoe every day to see who
would be the next to close. Each feared the other; all confidence was
gone; mercantile transactions were at an end; and everything, before so
radiant with the spring-time of hope and of promise, was changed to the
sad autumn hues of a fruitless year.

It was in the midst of this gloom and despondence which prevaded one part
of the community, that the ears of another part were astonished and
gladdened with a strain of melody, such as had not before stolen through
the glades and groves of this western land. A young girl, modest and
unpretending, unknown to all but her little circle, inspired by some
unseen power, tremblingly warbled forth a few verses of melody, but of
such enchanting power, beauty and harmony, that all the literary world
were confounded, and all eagerly inquired who it was that under the simple
signature of "AMELIA," and away off in the distant West had struck her
lyre "with an angel's art, and with the power of the fabled Orpheus," and
whose "strains had been caught up by melody-lovers throughout the Union,
and sung in every peopled valley, and echoed from every sunny hillside of
our vast domain."[14] Such genius could not long remain unknown; and soon
the name of its possessor was proclaimed through the columns of the
Louisville Journal, but the name gave no clue to the source whence this
mighty power had been derived. For the many, the ten days wonder soon
passed away. The genius of the writer was acknowledged and forgotten by
them. But the true lovers of her art followed her for many years with
looks of admiration, regard and affection; and still, though her harp has
long lain untouched, await with anxiety and hope for new strains from the
lyre they have loved so well.[15]

It is not for the historian to dwell at any length upon subjects kindred
to this, agreeable as the theme may be. We must then revert again to the
usual details of the year. The first of these was the reception here of
the distinguished Mr. Webster, who was met some twelve miles from the city
by a large number of citizens. On his arrival he was welcomed by the Mayor
and invited to meet the citizens at a barbacue near the city. The season
was one of great festivity, and nearly four thousand persons were present
at the barbacue. Mr. Webster addressed the citizens in his usual
felicitous manner.

An important event of the year was the addition of the town of Portland to
the limits of the city. The building of the First Presbyterian, and of St.
Paul's (Episcopal) Church, and of the bank of Louisville, as well as the
selection of this point as the site for the government hospital, and the
incorporation of the Louisville Manufacturing Company, are among the
events of this year. A paper called the Western Journal of Education, was
also issued from the Journal office, under the editorship of the Rev. B.
O. Peers, but was soon discontinued for want of sufficient patronage.

For some time previous to this period the removal of the medical
department of Transylvania University at Lexington to this city had
occupied much attention, and had created some bitterness of feeling
between the two cities. In this year this vexed question was finally
decided by the Legislature against the removal; no less to the
gratification of Lexington than to the serious annoyance of this city. The
examination of the subject however brought to light an old charter, passed
in 1833 and amended in 1835, which sufficed to enable a new school of
medicine to be established here. The city accordingly set apart four acres
of ground and the sum of $50,000 in money for its use, and so organized a
medical school here, of which Messrs. Caldwell, Cooke, Cobb, Flint,
Yandell, Miller and Locke were the professors. In February of the next
year, the corner stone of the building to be erected by the city for this
use was laid, and soon after Dr. Flint, with the money appropriated for
that purpose, visited Europe, and purchased a fine library and apparatus
for the Institution. Few, if any medical schools in the United States,
have ever risen as rapidly in public favor, or as speedily attained as
high position in public estimation as this. The first course of lectures
was delivered to 80 students, the second to 120, the third to 205, the
fifth to 262; and since that time the classes have reached 400 pupils. It
has attained the rank of the first school of medicine in the West, and is
second to few in the country. There is now another medical school in this
city, which will be noticed at the proper place.

The next year--1838--brings us to the opening of a railroad to Portland.
This road was intended to connect with the Lexington and Ohio railroad. It
was kept in employ but a very short time, the citizens on Main Street
below the depot at Sixth were violently opposed to the road, and used
every effort to impair its usefulness. After the establishment of the
Blind Asylum here, the profits of this road were transferred to that
institution; but it did not long enjoy the advantages so offered, for the
road was discontinued by an application to court from some of the
citizens, as offensive to some, and unprofitable to all.

A glance at the population of the city for this year will show, that in
spite of the commercial difficulties of the time, the city still grew with
astonishing rapidity. It had now reached a population of 27,000, showing a
gain of 7,033 in three years.

The only other event worthy of remembrance was the robbery of the Savings
Bank. This was effected in the daytime, by a man named Clarendon E. Dix,
who entered the bank about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Soon after this
time, Mr. Julien, the cashier of the bank, entered the establishment and
found Dix, who had still in his hand the large bank hammer, with which he
had killed the clerk whom he found there. Finding that he should be
vanquished in the struggle with Mr. Julien, Dix drew a pistol and shot
himself. He was believed to be insane.

The Literary Newsletter, a paper under the charge of Ed. Flagg, editor,
was issued from the Journal office in December of this year. Its existence
was limited to about thirty months. It was however eminently deserving of
a much greater success than attended its issue.

The Kentucky Historical Society was also incorporated at this time, under
the direction of Hon. J. Rowan, President; Hon. Geo. M. Bibb and Hon.
Henry Pirtle, Vice Presidents; D. C. Banks, Recording Secretary; and
Edward Jarvis, Corresponding Secretary and Librarian. Its library which
was amassed by the indefatigable zeal of Dr. Jarvis, is now incorporated
with the Louisville Library. The Society itself is not now in active
existence.

Early in 1839, there was established a Ladies' Provident Society, for the
benefit of the poor. This society was organized in the best possible
manner, and was of very great value to the city. A depot for the reception
of donations of food, clothing, &c., was established, where also work was
provided for such indigent females as failed to find employment elsewhere.
The city was divided into wards, to each of which two female and one male
visitor was apportioned, and the poor in each district were carefully and
judiciously attended to. No better scheme for ameliorating the distress
which is ever to be found in cities, could have been invented, and it is
greatly to be regretted that this noble monument of charity no longer
exists. The present form of provision for the destitute, though good, is
far less effective than was this; and it is believed that if the
Provident Society were now re-established, the increase both of wealth and
population in the city would prevent its second failure. The Scotch
Benevolent Society, which is an association of Scotchmen for the purpose
of relieving any necessitous persons of their own countrymen who may be in
Louisville, was also instituted at this time, and is still in active
operation.

The well remembered visit to this city of the beautiful and accomplished
America, descendant of Amerigo Vespucci, the voyager whose name is so
closely identified with the discovery of this continent, occurred during
this year. It will be recollected that she was an exile, and in distress;
and that she had visited this country with the hope of obtaining some aid
from the government, which she solicited in view of her ancestor's name
and services. A private subscription was commenced for her at the office
of the Journal, which, however, she declined, saying: "A national boon
will ever honor the memory and the descendant of Amerigo Vespucci, but
America, even as an exile in the United States, cannot accept an
individual favor, however courteous and delicate may be the manner in
which it is proffered."




CHAPTER VIII.


This history now approaches a period so recent, that it will hardly be
necessary to chronicle the events of the next decade with as much
minuteness as has heretofore been attempted. The reader will doubtless
long ago have perceived the difficulty of stringing together incidents,
interesting in themselves, yet having so little bearing upon each other,
as frequently to present more the dryness of a chronological table of
events, than to offer the interest of a consecutive history. It is
believed however, that in preparing a book of this character, this
difficulty could not well be avoided, especially if intended, as this is,
to be used as a work of general reference. The events of the next ten
years are however so entirely within the memory of all, that the same
attention to minutiae need not be preserved, such things possessing
interest less from their inherent value, than from the period of their
occurrence. It will, however, be still necessary to notice all that
pertains absolutely to the interests or prosperity of the city.

Commencing then with the year 1840, and keeping in view the fact that the
effects of the disastrous crisis of 1837 were not yet passed away, the
first thing claiming notice, is some account of the state of the city as
it then was. The census of the United States for this year assigns to
Louisville: 1 commercial, and 11 commission houses, [a somewhat indefinite
phraseology,] in foreign trade, with a capital of $191,800; 270 retail
stores, with a capital of $2,128,400; 3 lumber yards, with a capital of
$52,000; 2 flouring mills; 2 tanneries; 2 breweries; 1 glass cutting
works; 1 pottery; 2 ropewalks; 7 printing offices; 2 binderies; 5 daily, 7
weekly, and 3 semi-weekly newspapers; and 1 periodical; total capital
employed in manufactures, $713,675. One college, 80 students; 10
academies, 269 students; 14 schools, 388 scholars. The aggregate of
population by this census was 21,210; of which 9,282 white males, 7,889
white females; 609 free colored persons, and 3,420 slaves. This census is
not considered authentic, as many transparent errors were found in various
parts of it. Other computations made from reliable data at the same
period, give to the city 23,000 to 24,000 inhabitants. As the former
number, however, has received official sanction, it would be idle to
dispute its correctness.

Two events belong also to this year which were of vital importance. Of
these, the first was the lighting of the city with gas. This was done by a
corporate company, established by charter in 1839, having a capital of
$1,200,000, with power also to erect water-works and with banking
privileges, except the issue of bills. The city is better supplied with
gas, and better lighted than any in the United States, if not in the
world; most of the wealthier citizens use it in their dwellings, and all
the shops are lighted with gas. The perspective view of the miles of
brilliant lamps stretching away in the distance is very beautiful, and
very attractive to strangers. Before the introduction of this sort of
light, the city had been for two or three years greatly infested by
robbers, who favored by the darkness, made nightly attacks upon
passengers through the streets, striking and disabling them with colts,
and in no few instances murdering them outright. Residents were seldom
attacked by these banditti, but the streets were considered unsafe for
strangers. Finding it impossible to pursue their avocation where every
street was brilliantly illuminated, these gentry changed their place of
operations immediately on the lighting of the town, much to the relief of
the citizens as well as the re-establishment of the fair fame of the city.

The second of the events above alluded to was the conflagration which will
be long known as the Great Fire in Louisville. It originated about
midnight, on Third Street, between Main and Market, in the chair factory
of John Hawkins, and burned south within one door of the Post Office,
(then at the corner of Market and Third Streets,) and north to Main
Street. It then took a westwardly direction down Main Street, destroying
all the houses to within two doors of the Bank of Louisville. Its further
progress having been arrested here, the flames crossed the street, and
coming back upon their course destroyed nine large stores and one boarding
house on the north side of Main, east of the middle of the square. Upwards
of thirty houses were consumed, and the loss was estimated at more than
$300,000. The houses destroyed were chiefly large importing and commercial
stores; many of the goods were saved, but all the buildings were entirely
destroyed. This conflagration however, proved in the end rather a gain
than a loss to the city in general, as the site of the fire was speedily
rebuilt in a much better style than before.

The friends of the city were at this time urging the propriety of
establishing manufactures here, a want not felt less at that time than
now. In an article upon this subject in one of the daily papers, the
following statistics of the sale of cotton goods were elicited, in which
reference is had to the year 1841. "At this time there were sold, brown
cottons to the value of $276,095; prints amounting to $249,824; cotton
yarns to $224,819; bleached cottons $89,589, and checks and tickings
$68,180, making a total of $908,772 taken from the city, which, it was
urged, could have been easily and profitably furnished on the spot." It
was then said and may be now repeated that too little attention is paid to
the vast advantages to be derived from the establishment of manufactures,
especially at this point where the necessary power could and can be so
easily and so cheaply attained. It is somewhat remarkable that this
population has depended and still depends so entirely upon commerce as a
means of gain. No other city perhaps in the world has so large a
commercial business in proportion to its population. This is probably
accounted for in the fact that the increase of commerce has been so rapid
and the difficulty of overdoing the business so apparently impossible that
every temptation has been offered to the capitalist to prefer this mode of
investment. The time, however, cannot be far distant when the advantages
offered to the manufacturer will be acknowledged and embraced. Indeed the
commencement of what must before long become a very large branch of
prosperity here was already established, but it has not grown with a
rapidity commensurate with the increase of other departments of trade. A
few foundries and manufactories of bagging and rope were established about
this period. These, with the addition of a lard oil factory, begun by C.
C. P. Crosby, in 1842, may be said to embrace the whole manufacturing
business of the city in that year. Future statistics will show how it has
increased, and will demonstrate the value of this addition to the trade;
and to these we will now turn.

The Louisville Directory for 1844-1845, compiled by N. Peabody Poor, and
the best directory ever published here, gives a very complete and
interesting view of the city for that year. As no events in any degree
connected with the public interests, or of any especial political value,
are referable to the period between this year and 1840, it will be as well
to pass on at once to a notice of the results of these five years of
steady progress. Beginning then with the population, which, it will be
remembered, amounted in 1840 to 21,210, we find that in September, 1845,
an actual census shows it to have reached 37,218 souls. Of these 32,602
were whites, 560 free blacks, and 4,056 slaves. The increase of five years
is thus shown to amount to 16,008. Nor was it alone in the matter of
population that such rapid progress had been made. The number of houses
engaged in the wholesale and retail trade had increased from 270 to
upwards of 500, and in addition to these purely commercial houses, there
were then "12 large foundries for the construction of steam machinery; 1
large rolling and slitting mill; 2 extensive steam bagging factories,
capable of producing about 2,000,000 of yards annually; 6 cordage and rope
factories, some of which produced 900,000 pounds of bale rope annually,
beside which there were several smaller rope walks for the making of sash
cord, twine, &c.; 1 cotton factory; 1 woolen factory; 4 flouring mills,
producing about 400 barrels daily; 4 lard oil factories; 1 white lead
factory; 3 potteries; 6 extensive tobacco stemmeries, employing a large
capital, where the leaf is stripped from the stem and re-packed for the
English market; several tobacco manufactories; 2 glass cutting
establishments; a large oil cloth factory; 2 surgical instrument makers; 2
lithographic presses; 1 paper mill; 1 star candle factory; 4 pork houses,
which will slaughter and pack about 70,000 hogs annually; 3 piano forte
manufactories; 3 breweries; 8 brick yards; 1 ivory black maker; 6
tanneries; 2 tallow rendering houses, rendering about 1,000,000 pounds
annually; 8 soap and candle factories; 3 planing machines; 2 scale
factories; 2 glue factories; 3 large ship yards, at which have been built
some of the fastest running boats on the river; besides several factories
of less note."[16] The simple statement of these facts furnishes a more
convincing demonstration of the rapid and healthy progress of the city,
than whole volumes of argument could afford.

Another event bearing directly upon the prosperity of the city during the
rest of this decade was the opening of the Louisville and Frankfort
Railroad. The subject of this road had for a long time agitated the city;
many surveys had been made, and indeed the work had at one time progressed
to the actual digging and embankment of several miles of the track. The
opening of the road was finally effected by the subscription of one
million of dollars by the city herself, which was paid by a tax of one
per cent, for four years on all real estate within her limits, and this
tax was re-paid to the owners in shares of stock. Although sanctioned by
the vote of a very large majority of the citizens, this measure was for a
while a very unpopular one; but the malcontents have lately found that the
present loss was to them in the end a gain, and they are ready once more
to submit to similar taxation, if by so doing other roads can be
constructed. Indeed the subject of railroads was now eagerly taken up, and
a just and most effective feeling in their favor was taking the place of
the former apathy and indifference. The Louisville and Lexington Railroad
had opened so many new sources of wealth and developed such advantages
before unthought of, that the policy of stretching out iron arms to
embrace in their circle all possible resources was no longer doubted.
Acting upon this feeling, the people of Louisville united with those of
Jeffersonville in building a road from that point to Columbus, and with
those of New Albany in uniting that growing city with Salem. The purpose
had in view in the construction of these roads is the ultimate and not
very distant connection of Louisville, Jeffersonville and New Albany with
Lake Erie, St. Louis and Lake Michigan. The entire line of the first of
these roads is now in progress of construction, and the greater part of
the other is under contract. Beside these, a railroad hence to Nashville,
Tenn., is now being surveyed, which will unite with roads already partly
under operation leading to some point on the Atlantic coast, near
Charleston, S. C. The Louisville and Nashville end of this route will be
put under contract as soon as proper surveys can be established. Other
roads are had in contemplation, but nothing has yet been done toward their
construction. The effect of these improvements will be the subject of
notice in another chapter.

With the opening of the year 1850, was commenced the first of a series of
movements which led to the formation of a new charter for the city. This
document makes all city officers elective by the people, and places the
government in the hands of a Mayor, a Board of Common Council, and a Board
of Aldermen. Many of the provisions of this charter are found healthful
and wise in their operation, while many others are incomprehensible or
impracticable. The first Mayor under this new charter felt himself obliged
to resign his office, on the plea of incompetence to perform the duties
assigned to him by the instrument. The Council, however, unwilling to
dispense with so efficient an officer as he had proved himself, continued
him in place as "_Mayor pro tem._," until the end of his term. Experience
and the necessities of the city government will doubtless, as time
progresses, so modify this instrument as to make its provisions work well
and harmoniously.

The annals of the city up to the year 1852 having now been presented to
the reader, it only remains to offer a view of its present state in regard
to population, commerce, manufactures and social position; which, together
with a chapter on its future destiny, will conclude this history. It is
not the intention of this work purposely to mislead any, as to the actual
position of the city, and therefore, instead of embracing with the
statistics of Louisville those of all the suburban villages and cities in
the vicinity, as has universally been done by other western places, we
purpose to give such statistics as belong exclusively to this city. If,
however, it is ever honest for a city to aggrandize to itself all the
prosperity of its suburban neighbors, it is eminently so with Louisville.
The towns immediately around the falls are as ready to concede, as
Louisville is to claim a perfect identity of interests. The pre-eminence
which it has already gained over the neighboring towns forbids all hope of
rivalry on their part, and compels them to unite their interests with
those of Louisville as a means of their own prosperity. In certain
branches of trade, New Albany or Jeffersonville may and do successfully
compete with this city, but it is idle to imagine that this partial
success can benefit them in such a way as to afford them any superiority
in point of fact. On the contrary, this very success is owing entirely to
their proximity to Louisville. Those branches of manufacture or of trade
in which they excel find encouragement just so far as they are part and
parcel of the manufactures or commerce of Louisville; and they would find
no market for such wares, and no sale for such manufactures, did they
depend only on their own resources of trade. It is the immediate
contiguity of the large city which is their stimulus to exertion, and
their means of preservation or of prosperity. They cannot but be
considered as identical in interest with their elder sister. Nor, on the
other hand, can it be denied that these places are of immense advantage to
Louisville. Firstly, because they are situated in a free state, and hence
can offer freedom from the disadvantages of slavery; secondly, because,
as smaller towns, they are cheaper residences for those whose means
require attention to careful economy; thirdly, because they claim for
Louisville the sympathy and encouragement of the State in which they are
situated; and finally, because they extend the area of the trade and
manufactures of the city. It is probable that if the same advantages which
have made Louisville great had been offered to New Albany or to
Jeffersonville, either of those places might have exceeded their more
fortunate compeer. But now the supremacy once gained, cannot but be
maintained; and the growth and prosperity, or the decay and adversity of
Louisville, must either make or mar the fortunes of her sister towns.

Before entering upon the commercial statistics of Louisville, it may be
well to consider its social position, and to endeavor to convey some idea
of the advantages offered by this city as a place of residence, aside from
its character as a commercial emporium. It is believed that there are few
commercial cities on this continent which possess the same characteristics
as this. The restlessness, the turmoil and the eagerness in the pursuit of
wealth which is ever the characteristic of large commercial cities, has
generally produced a littleness of feeling, and a selfishness of manner
which does not at all tend to elevate the social position of those places,
but rather causes them to lack that feature which in other countries is
known and valued by the name "_tone_." In Louisville, this does not
appear. Indeed it is difficult to reconcile the manner of pursuing traffic
here with its results. As will be seen hereafter, the business of the
city is of great extent, and yet the stranger in its midst would perceive
nothing to indicate such prosperity. Business is pursued quietly and
without ostentation; no efforts are made by any to convince others of
their successes; no factitious means are employed to display the results
of labor, no hurry or restlessness or confusion attends even the largest
and most prosperous houses. Trade is pursued as a means of gain, but is
not allowed to blind its votaries to every other pursuit of life: business
closes with the close of the day, and is forgotten in other things, until
it is revived on the morrow. While pursued, it is pursued with all the
avidity that is consistent with the dignity of manhood; but it is never
allowed to obtrude where it does not belong, nor is it permitted to make
any forget that there are other duties than those of the merchant, and
other pleasures than that of adding dollar to dollar. Yet it is believed
that there is no city in the Union where the aggregate amount of sales in
any one department of business, divided by the number of houses engaged in
that business, will show so large a result. Doubtless this state of things
is in a great measure caused by the peculiarities of character which
belong to the Kentuckian, and which are so essential an element in the
society of this city, which society comes now to be considered in its
proper form.

There are certain traits in the Kentucky character which are everywhere
spoken of with approbation. A manly independence, a generous frankness,
and a careless but attractive freedom of manner, united with unbounded
hospitality, and that true politeness and deference, which proceeds
rather from natural instinct than from a knowledge of the rules of
etiquette, are perhaps the chief of these characteristics. All these, and
much more which will elude description, and which can be appreciated only
by acquaintance, go to make up that praiseworthy trait of character which
has always and everywhere distinguished the Kentuckian, as fully as the
most elaborate description could do, we mean his _chivalry_.

Despising alike the narrow prejudices, the suspicious reserve, the silly
dignity, the proud self-gratulation of the Yankee; and the pride of birth
and of purse, the ostentation of manner and the foppish pretension of the
Southerner, he takes from the first his respect for talent, his patriotism
and his spirit of enterprise, and from the last his genial warmth of
heart, his worship of the beautiful, his deference for the other sex, and
his manly independence of heart. Add to these a bold and reckless
frankness, an easy confidence, a love of adventure, a scorn of oppression,
a noble intolerance of even seeming insult, and an almost criminal
indifference of life when duty or honor seems to call it into peril, and
you have a fair picture of the true Kentuckian, of the character which
forms the basis of the society now under consideration. Perhaps the most
distinguishing feature of this society is the readiness with which it
receives and swallows up all those sectional differences which in other
cities remain intact. Society here is generalized; the spirit of
_cliqueism_ does not prevail, social distinctions are marked in broad,
plain lines, but the highest class is open to all who merit a place. The
test of position is neither wealth, birth, nor pretension;
_respectability_ as readily enters the higher circles, and receives as
ready encouragement as either of these. In other cities, society divides
into numerous little circles, each claiming superior position to the
other, each ridiculing the pretension and refusing the association of the
other. Here, all are honored in their respective spheres, and few claim a
position to which they are not entitled.

Society here has also the power of generalization to the extent that
sectional differences are lost by its members, and the Northern, Eastern
or Southern man, as well as the native of another country, seems to lose
all identity of manner, and becomes only an integral part of one great
circle. The fashionable world acts as if with one common impulse, while
the other, the larger and better class of respectable people, who do not
aspire to this title, but who could claim it by the mere exercise of their
will, are neither led by the _beau monde_, on the one hand, nor, on the
other, do they make a virtue of opposing this class. Society is correct in
its outline and harmonious in detail. Distinctions of class, though
plainly marked, are never offensively shown.

Perhaps the worst feature of society is its lack of a proper reverence for
the intellectual, its tendency to frivolity. The amusements most prized by
all classes are of a frivolous character. The song, the play or the dance,
are valued far above the lecture or the conversation. The pleasures of the
intellect are considered dull and tame, when compared with those which
excite but for a moment, and are then forgotten. That the power of the
intellectual man is acknowledged is true, but the acknowledgment is not
practical, it is merely theoretical. While a high respect is had for the
man of letters, he does not command that _sympathy_ which should be
accorded him. The great singer or actor receives far more at the hands of
society than the profound philosopher or the elegant essayist. People of
all ranks are bent upon attaining pleasure with the least possible
intellectual exertion. Libraries are little patronized; public amusements
of all sorts meet with unbounded success.

Another glaring defect of a certain part of society is found in a desire
for notoriety, even if purchased at the expense of good taste. This
feeling is one hardly deserving the name of ambition, for ambition has
ever a laudable object in view, while this purposes to itself no more than
merely having one's name coupled with some eccentric freak, or being
pitied as the victim of _outre_ tastes in dress or manner. It has resulted
from the thoughtless admission of very young persons into terms of social
equality, and will doubtless be corrected as these grow mature or pass
over the stage, and admit a new group to the places they have just yielded
up.

The first of these defects is by far the worst in its general tendencies;
for it reduces the educational standard, causing daughters to be educated
merely with a view to shine in society, and leading young men to eschew
pursuits which they find do not advantage them with their daily
companions. It is in society that the young man first feels the promptings
of ambition; and if excellence in the Redowa or the Mazourka gain for him
more admiration than skill with the pen or the pallet; if genius in
ball-room prattle make him more friends than learning or philosophy, it is
easy to see that the Redowa and the ball-room will carry the day. Nor, on
the other hand, can it be doubted that if young ladies were so educated as
to show their appreciation of useful talent; if their tastes would lead
them to smile on the endeavor of merit, and to frown on him who had
neglected the graces of the mind to bestow his time and attention on those
of the person, a very great social change would ensue. Men would then have
a proper point for their ambition to aim at; the parlor or the ball-room
would become a place of real and rational enjoyment, and society would
take a rank far above that held by the ballet girls and singers of the
conservatoire.

But society here has its virtues as well as its defects. It is singularly
free from absolute vice of all sorts. It discourages gaming, drunkenness
and sensuality; its prevailing tone is virtuous and moral; and, while
people are hedged in by few conventionalities, yet a character for
respectability is imperatively demanded from all who knock at its portals
for admission. No society could be more agreeable to the stranger than
that of Louisville. Its unbounded hospitality, and generous, confiding
frankness are characteristics which are to him a screen against any minor
defects.

It is not to be argued from anything which has been previously said that
this city can boast of no prominent intellectual men. On the contrary few
cities of corresponding size in the country can show as many widely known
and respected names connected with the world of letters. There are now
living in Louisville eighteen authors who have each contributed one or
more successful volumes to the literature of the day. But authorship and
intellectual exertion, like business or physical labor, seems to form no
part of the every day life of society.

The next subject which presents itself as connected with the social review
of the city is a glance at the religious statistics of Louisville. This is
offered to the reader in the following

TABLE OF CHURCHES.

  --------------------------------------------------------------------
                     |Congregations.
                     |         +--------------------------------------
                     |         |Communications.
                     |         |        +-----------------------------
                     |         |        |Number in Congregation.
                     |         |        |  (Attendance.)
                     |         |        |        +--------------------
                     |         |        |        |Church Accomodations
                     |         |        |        |  for
                     |         |        |        |        +-----------
                     |         |        |        |        |Value of
    CHURCHES.        |         |        |        |        | Property.
  -------------------|---------|--------|--------|--------|-----------
  BAPTIST            |    5    |  1,729 |  2,200 |  2,650 |   80,000
  EPISCOPAL          |    3    |    431 |  1,425 |  2,150 |   76,000
  METHODIST          |   17    |  3,036 |  5,900 |  8,250 |  109,000
  PRESBYTERIAN       |    5    |    913 |  2,225 |  3,300 |  128,000
  GERMAN EVANGELICAL |    4    |        |  1,200 |  2,150 |   21,700
     "   LUTHERAN    |    1    |        |    100 |    100 |
     "   REFORMED    |    1    |     75 |    200 |    200 |    2,250
  DISCIPLE           |    2    |    410 |    520 |    950 |   18,000
  UNITARIAN          |    1    |     63 |    240 |    320 |   12,000
  UNIVERSALIST       |    1    |     70 |    200 |    500 |    8,000
  ROMAN CATHOLIC     |    4    |  5,000 |  5,000 |  3,540 |  125,000
  JEWS               |    2    |        |    400 |    400 |   11,000
                     |---------|--------|--------|--------|-----------
       Total         |   46    | 11,727 | 19,610 | 24,510 |  590,900
  --------------------------------------------------------------------

The tasteful and elegant structures which many of these churches have
erected are great additions to the beauty of the city. Those most worthy
of note are the Walnut Street Baptist, First Presbyterian, Catholic
Cathedral, St. Paul's (Episcopal) and the Synagogue; the last mentioned of
which is the most elegant building in the city, although it is probably
less expensive than either of the others. The pulpit of Louisville is
eminently well supplied. Some of the most distinguished divines of the
country are among its members; and few, if any, of the clergy are men
whose talents do not rank above mediocrity.

Beside the churches above mentioned, Louisville has also many beautiful
public and private buildings. The city is perhaps more thoroughly
classified and better arranged, both for business and for comfortable
residence, than any other western place. The wholesale business of the
city is entirely confined to Main Street, which is more than four miles
long, is perfectly straight, and is built up on either side with good
substantial brick buildings for more than half its entire length. The
stores, taken as a whole, are the largest and finest ware-houses anywhere
to be seen; having fronts of from twenty to thirty feet and running back
from one hundred and ten to two hundred feet, and three to five stories in
height. The houses thus referred to occupy the most central part of the
business street and extend from First to Sixth cross streets, a distance
of 5,040 feet in a direct line. On the north side of Main Street,
throughout this whole extent, there are but two retail stores of any kind,
and even these only sell their goods at retail because they are enabled to
do so without interference with their wholesale trade. On the south side
of the same street are about twenty of the fashionable shops side by side
with many of the largest wholesale houses. Market Street is exclusively
devoted to the retail business. It is on this street that the principal
small transactions in country produce are made. With the exception of the
squares bounded by Third and Fifth Streets, where most of the retail
dry-goods business is done, the entire extent of this street is given up
to the retail grocers, provision dealers and clothiers. Jefferson is
recently beginning to be used as a fashionable street for the retailers,
but yet contains many handsome residences. The streets south of Jefferson
are all entirely occupied with dwelling houses. No business is done on any
of them except an occasional family grocery or drug store. The fashionable
shops are fitted up in a style of unexampled magnificence and contain the
most beautiful products of human ingenuity. No city in the Union is better
supplied with or finds more ready sale for the finest class of articles of
every description than Louisville. The city south of Jefferson Street is
very beautiful. The streets are lined on either side with large and
elegant shade trees, the houses are all provided with little green yards
in front, and are cleanly kept, presenting a graceful and home-like
appearance. An impression of elegant ease every where characterizes this
part of the city. The houses seem to be more the places for retirement,
comfort and enjoyment than, as is customary in most cities, either the
ostentatious discomforts of display, or the hot, confined residences of
those whose life of ease is sacrificed to the pursuit of gain. There is
little appearance of poverty and little display of wealth; every house
seems the abode of modest competence that knows how to enjoy a little with
content, careless of producing a display of wealth to feast the eyes of a
passing idler. Even the more ambitious residences on Chestnut and Broadway
Streets are constructed rather for the comfort of the inmates than to
produce an impression on the stranger. This latter is the most beautiful
street in the city. It is one hundred and twenty feet in width from front
to front and is perfectly straight. The side-walks are twenty-five feet
wide. The view up and down this street is extended and beautiful. It is
destined to become the fashionable street for residence. Already many
beautiful buildings are being erected upon it and the former less elegant
houses are being removed to more remote situations.

The subject of Public Education comes now to claim its share of
consideration. The free school system is the same in its outline here as
in other cities. The city schools are under the direction of a Board of
trustees, who are elected by the people, and are open to all those persons
who are not able to pay for the tuition of their wards; children of all
ages and of both sexes are placed under the care of competent instructors,
and educated in all the ordinary branches of learning without any charge
to the pupil. The sexes are kept separate and male and female teachers are
employed. The standard of study is as high as in other unclassical
schools, and every pupil has equal advantages of improvement. A high
school is about to be established where all the branches of study usually
employed in colleges will be taught to those pupils who have successfully
passed through the lower schools, also without any charge. By this
magnificent educational scheme, the children even of the poorest and
humblest member of society are afforded all the advantages which the
wealthiest person could purchase. The attendance at the public schools of
Louisville has not been so large as it should have been; firstly, because
there are comparatively few parents who are not able to pay for the
tuition of their children; and secondly, because of a foolish pride which
prevents parents from accepting this education as a gratuity. The number
of children taught in private schools as compared with those who embrace
the free school privileges show that these reasons have immense weight
with the people. It is probable, however, that the opening of the new high
school will bring about a change in this regard. The advantages which will
then be offered to the pupil will be so great as to overcome, in a great
measure, the absurd prejudices which have existed in the city against the
common school. There are twenty-four free schools in the city, having
thirty-one female and twenty-five male teachers, whose salaries range from
two hundred and fifty to seven hundred dollars. The number of pupils
entered for the year reaches about three thousand, six hundred and fifty,
while the number in attendance does not exceed one thousand, eight hundred
and fifty. This affords an average of only thirty-three pupils to each
teacher; so that all the pupils are able to receive every requisite
attention.

The city also has control of a Medical and of a Law school, which are
recognized as departments of the Louisville University. The first of these
is one of the most distinguished schools of its class in the United
States. Something has been said of its history in a previous part of this
volume. Three thousand, eight hundred and sixty-one young men have been
attendants on this school since its commencement. The names of its
Professors are well known in the medical world and afford a sure guarantee
for its position. They are as follows:

Charles W. Short, M. D., Emeritus Professor of Materia Medica and Medical
Botany.

[17]Jedediah Cobb, M. D., Professor of Descriptive and Surgical Anatomy.

Lunsford P. Yandell, M. D., Professor of Physiology and Pathalogical
Anatomy.

Samuel D. Gross, M. D., Professor of the Principles and Practice of
Surgery.

Henry Miller, M. D., Professor of Obstetric Medicine.

Lewis Rogers, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics.

Benjamin Silliman, Jr., M. D., Professor of Medical Chemistry and
Toxicology.

[17]Daniel Drake, M. D., Professor of the Theory and

T. G. Richardson, M. D., Demonstrator of Anatomy.

The venerated name of CHARLES CALDWELL, M. D., was also, for a long time,
associated with this school, and much of its earlier success is
attributable to his exertion.

The law department of the University has been in active operation only
since the winter of 1847. It has, however, obtained a wide spread and
deservedly great reputation as a school. The number of pupils educated in
this department since its commencement is one hundred and ninety-six.

The Professors of the Law Department of the University are as follows:

Hon. Henry Pirtle, L. L. D., Professor of Constitutional Law, Equity and
Commercial Law.

Hon. Wm, F. Bullock, Professor of the Law of Real Property and of the
Practice of Law, including Pleading and Evidence.

Hon. James Pryor, Professor of the History and Science of Law, including
the Common Law and International Law.

The prospects of this school for the ensuing year are more flattering than
they have ever been. The distinguished gentlemen who are at the head of
this institution have reason to congratulate themselves as well on their
past success as on their brilliant prospects for the future.

Besides these two schools under the immediate control of the city, the
Medical Department of the Masonic University of Kentucky is also located
here. This school has been in operation for a very short time, having been
organized in 1850, but its claims seem already to be recognized throughout
the West. The institution opened with a class of 103 young gentlemen,
which number was increased in the second year of its existence to 110.
With so auspicious a commencement, and under the direction of its
distinguished faculty, there seems to be no reason why it should not soon
equal in point of numbers and utility the other and older college. The
advantages of Louisville over other western cities as a location for
medical schools does not need any further notice than these statistics
will afford. What has already been accomplished by these institutions will
establish its advantages with the reader more fully than any deliberate
reasoning could do. The faculty of the Kentucky School of Medicine is
composed of the following gentlemen:

Benj. W. Dudley, M. D., Emeritus Professor of Anatomy and Surgery.

Robert Peter, M. D., Professor of Chemistry and Toxicology.

Thos. D. Mitchell, Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine.

Joshua B. Flint, M. D., Professor of Principles and Practice of Surgery.

James M. Bush, M. D., and Ethelbert L. Dudley, M. D., Professors of
Special and Surgical Anatomy and Operative Surgery.

Henry M. Bullitt, M. D., Professor of Physiology and Pathology.

Llewellyn Powell, M. D., Professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and
Children.

Erasmus D. Foree, M. D., Professor of Materia Medica and Clinical
Medicine.

David Cummings, M. D., Demonstrator of Anatomy.

St. Aloysius college, under the care of the Jesuits, is an academical
institution of some celebrity. It has six professors and several tutors.
The Kentucky Institution for the Education of the Blind is also located
here. This noble monument of philanthropy has been the means of much good
to the class for whom it was intended. It has had an average attendance of
about twenty pupils. The course of instruction is ample and the results
have been in the highest degree creditable to the teachers. The
proficiency of many of the pupils is truly wonderful; and their aptitude
in learning many of the branches taught them, more especially that great
solace of the blind, music, is everywhere noted. They are also instructed
in various kinds of handicraft, by which they are enabled to earn an
honorable support after leaving the school. The price of board and tuition
for those who are able to pay is only one hundred dollars per annum; while
indigent children, resident in the State, are educated gratuitously. The
spacious building erected for the use of this school was recently
destroyed by fire, but will be speedily rebuilt on a more favorable site
and in a better manner than before.

Beside the schools above mentioned there are a great number of private
schools of various grades of excellence. Among these the Young Ladies'
Schools of BISHOP SMITH and of PROF. NOBLE BUTLER are perhaps the most
widely known. They offer advantages for the education of young ladies
which are not surpassed in any city. Indeed the educational opportunities
afforded by the many excellent public and private schools of Louisville
are in the highest degree creditable to the city and have attracted and
still continue to attract to it many families from distant parts of the
country. To those who know how properly to estimate the value of
educational privileges, the training of their children is an all-important
consideration; and, as nothing can supply the want of parental care, it is
not uncommon for families to seek as a residence those places which at
once possess great facilities for instruction, and are free from the
dangers of ill-health. Louisville has both these advantages, and hence
this city owes to these facts much of her best population.

The healthiness of Louisville is everywhere a subject of remark. Its past
reputation for insalubrity is long since forgotten, and its singular
exemption from those epidemic diseases whose ravages have been so terrible
in other places, have gained for it a very enviable distinction among
cities. The following recent report of the Committee on Public Health of
the Louisville Medical Society will tend still further to confirm what has
just been said: "Since the years 1822 and 1823," says this document, "the
endemic fevers of summer and autumn have become gradually less frequent,
until within the last five or six years they have almost ceased to
prevail, and those months are now as free from disease as those of any
part of the year. Typhoid fever is a rare affection here, and a majority
of the cases seen occur in persons recently from the country. Some
physicians residing in the interior of this State see more of the disease
than comes under the joint observation of all the practitioners of the
city, if we exclude those treated in the Hospital.

"Tubercular disease, particularly pulmonary consumption, is not so much
seen as in the interior of Kentucky. Our exemption from pulmonary
consumption is remarkable, and it would be a matter of much interest if a
registration could be made of all the deaths from it, so that we could
compare them with those of other places.

"For the truth of the remarks as to the extent and frequency of the
diseases enumerated we rely solely upon what we have observed ourselves,
and upon what we have verbally gathered from our professional friends.

"This exemption of Louisville from disease, can be accounted for in no
other way than from its natural situation, and from what has been done in
grading, in building, and in laying off the streets.

"Louisville is situated on an open plain, where the wind has access from
every direction; upon a sandy soil, which readily absorbs the water that
falls upon it; susceptible of adequate drainings; supplied bountifully
with pure lime stone water, which is filtered through a depth of thirty or
forty feet of sand; its streets are wide and laid off at right
angles--north and south, east and west--giving the freest ventilation; and
the buildings compact, comfortable, and generally so constructed as to be
dry and to admit freely the fresh air. It is situated upon the border of
the beautiful Ohio, and environed by one of the richest agricultural
districts in the world, supplying it with abundance of food, and all the
comforts and luxuries of life. It must, under the guidance of science and
wise legislation, become, if it is not already, one of the healthiest
cities in the world. Its proximity to the rapids of the Ohio may add to
its salubrity, and it is certain that the evening breezes wafted over
them, produce an exhilarating effect, beyond what is derived from the
perpetual music of the roar of the falls."

It may be proper to add the following table of the comparative statistics
of annual mortality of the resident population as ascertained from
official sources.

  In Louisville the deaths are one to 50.
     Philadelphia     do       do     36.
     New York         do       do     37.
     Boston           do       do     38.
     Cincinnati       do       do     35.
     Naples           do       do     28.
     Paris            do       do     33.
     London           do       do     39.
     Glasgow          do       do     44.

The _Market Houses_ of Louisville, five in number and all located upon
Market Street, are profusely supplied with every production of this
latitude. Markets are held every day, and prices are much lower than in
Eastern cities. The Kentucky beef and pork which is everywhere so
celebrated, is here found in its true perfection. The vegetables and
fruits peculiar to this climate, are also offered in excellent order and
in great abundance. Irish and sweet potatoes, green peas, corn, cucumbers,
lettuce, radishes, asparagus, celery, salsafie, pie plant, melons,
peaches, apples, cherries, strawberries, and many other vegetables and
fruits are plentifully supplied. The Irish potato is sold at from
twenty-five to forty cents per bushel, green peas command about twenty
cents per peck, strawberries fifty cents per gallon. The choice pieces of
beef can be had at from six to eight cents per pound, less desirable
pieces bring three and four cents. Pork is bought at about five cents per
pound. Turkies bring fifty to seventy-five cents each. Spring chickens,
from seventy-five to one dollar and fifty cents per dozen. Ducks, fifteen
to twenty-five cents each. Eggs are sold at four to eight cents per dozen.
Butter, fifteen to twenty cents per pound. The lamb and mutton sold in
this market, cannot be surpassed in point of quality in the United States.
The extreme fertility of the country around Louisville, and its perfect
adaptation to the wants of the gardener and the stockraiser, must always
give to this city the advantage of an excellent and cheap provision
market.

The following is a list of all the publications issued from this city:

  Journal               Daily and Weekly     Whig.
  Courier                 "         "          "
  Times                   "         "        Democrat.
  Democrat                "         "           "
  Beobachter am Ohio      "         "           "
  Louisville Anzeiger     "         "           "
  Union                      Daily           Neutral.
  Bulletin                     "                "
  Sunday Varieties           Weekly             "
  Presbyterian Herald          "             Presbyterian.
  Western Recorder             "             Baptist.
  Watchman and Evangelist      "             Cumb. Presby.
  Christian Advocate           "             Methodist.
  Kentucky New Era        Semi-Monthly       Temperance.
  Christian Repository       Monthly         Baptist.
  Indian Advocate               "               "
  Bible Advocate                "            Neutral.
  Theological Medium            "            Cumb. Presby.
  Western Journal of Medicine and Surgery  Monthly.
  Transylvania Medical Journal                "

This review of the social statistics of Louisville will be concluded with
a notice of the number of persons engaged in the various avocations of
life, as shows in the following:

  Agents                            58
  Agricultural Implement Makers      5
  Apothecaries                     113
  Architects                         6
  Artificial Flower Makers           2
  Artists                           10
  Auctioneers                       26
  Barbers                          198
  Bakers                           362
  Bar Keepers                      231
  Basket Makers                     15
  Bellows Makers                     5
  Blind Makers                       5
  Blacking Makers                    4
  Blacksmiths                      251
  Bird Stuffers                      2
  Brush Makers                      15
  Brokers                           28
  Bricklayers                      265
  Brick Makers                      45
  Brewers                           37
  Bristle Cleaners                   4
  Book Sellers                      18
  Boot and Shoe Dealers             58
  Book Binders                     102
  Butchers                         201
  Candle and Soap Makers            38
  Caulkers                          18
  Carpet Weavers                     8
  Carvers                           13
  Cartmen                          452
  Carpenters                       874
  Camphine Makers                    4
  Cabinet Makers                   275
  Cement Maker                       1
  Clerks                          1130
  Clothing Dealers                  57
  Cigar Makers                     159
  Composition Roofers                2
  Cotton Packers                    22
  Cotton Caulk Makers                3
  Collectors                        22
  Confectionaries                   96
  Coach Makers                      78
  Coopers                          116
  Comb Makers                        3
  Dancing Teachers                  10
  Daguerreotypists                  23
  Dentists                          13
  Distiller                          1
  Doctors                          162
  Druggists                         75
  Dry Goods Dealers                275
  Dyers                             11
  Editors                           18
  Edge Tool Makers                  11
  Egg Packers                        4
  Engravers                         15
  Engineers                        139
  Farmers                           17
  Feed Dealers                      15
  Fishermen                         10
  File Cutters                       3
  Foundrymen                       369
  Fringe Makers                      4
  Gardeners                         31
  Gentlemen                         36
  Gilders                            8
  Glass Setters                      3
  Glass Cutters                      2
  Glass Stainer                      1
  Glass Blowers                     21
  Glue Makers                        2
  Grocers                          504
  Guagers                            3
  Gunsmiths                         17
  Hatters                          117
  Hackmen                           95
  Hardware Dealers                  34
  Hucksters                         45
  Hose Makers                        2
  Ice Dealers                        6
  Ink Makers                         6
  Insurance Agencies                27
  Iron Safe Maker                    1
  Lamp Makers                        2
  Laborers                        1920
  Last Makers                        3
  Leather Finders                   16
  Lawyers                          125
  Liquor Dealers                    45
  Locksmiths                        47
  Livery Keepers                    43
  Lightning Rod Maker                1
  Lathe Makers                       2
  Match Makers                      12
  Machinists                        33
  Marble Cutters                    21
  Merchants                         85
  Millers                           37
  Milliners                        186
  Milkmen                            8
  Millwrights                       17
  Midwives                          23
  Music Dealers                      9
  Music Teachers                    30
  Music Publishers                   3
  No Occupation                    127
  Oil Cloth Makers                  15
  Oyster Brokers                     5
  Organ Builders                     4
  Oil Stone Makers                  10
  Opticians                          2
  Oil Makers                        27
  Paper Makers                      22
  Paper Box Makers                   8
  Painters                         267
  Pedlars                           47
  Plasterers                        94
  Plane Makers                      26
  Planing Mill and Lumbermen        33
  Piano Makers                      36
  Printers                         201
  Paper Hangers                     48
  Potters                           17
  Professors                        26
  Pump Makers                       16
  Pickle Dealer                      1
  Plumbers                           9
  Pork Packers                      25
  Preachers                         57
  Presidents Company                45
  Policemen                         32
  Queensware Dealers                26
  Railroad Car Makers                6
  Refrigerator Makers                6
  River Men                        330
  Rope Makers                       65
  Saddlers                         195
  Semptresses                      311
  Scale Makers                       7
  Silver Platers                     5
  Silversmiths                      63
  Shoemakers                       356
  Ship Carpenters                  133
  Soda Makers                        8
  Speculators                       43
  Starch Makers                     10
  Stereotypers                       3
  Stone Cutters                    219
  Stocking Weavers                   2
  Surveyors                         13
  Students                         638
  Saw Millers                        8
  Stucco Workers                     4
  Stove Makers                       4
  Sail Makers                        2
  Surgical Instrument Makers         4
  Tailors                          375
  Tanners                           42
  Tavern keepers                   275
  Teachers                          67
  Telescopic Instrument Makers       1
  Tinners                          115
  Turners                           22
  Tobacconists                      61
  Trunk Makers                      35
  Upholsterers                      29
  Umbrella Makers                    5
  Variety Dealers                   46
  Vinegar Makers                     8
  Wig Makers                         3
  Wire Workers                      12
  Wagon Makers                     144
  Whip Makers                        3
  Wood and Coal Dealers             30
  White Lead Makers                  2
  Wall Paper Makers                  1

The commercial and manufacturing statistics of Louisville come next to be
considered. And it is well to state here, however discreditable such
statement may be to the city, that no business organization of any kind
has ever been attempted and no statistical tables have ever been kept
either by the city government, by societies or individuals. The only means
left to the statistician, therefore, have been the tedious and often
incomplete process of personal application and investigation. The
statistics which are here offered to the reader are derived from the best
authority and are believed to be correct, but are necessarily far less
complete than could have been wished. This outline will, however, serve to
give some idea of the general business character of the city.

All departments of business in Louisville are transacted upon a very large
scale. It is perhaps the greatest fault in the commercial character of the
city that everything is conducted upon too large a scale. There is, to
use a painter's phrase, too much of outline and too little in detail. The
wealth and importance of cities depends less upon the great than upon the
small dealers and manufacturers; these latter are content with doing each
a small and careful business which may gradually rise to be of vast
extent, and which will thus really improve and profit the city more than
the mighty efforts of the large dealer. In Louisville, however, none are
contented to do a little business. The feeling seems to exist that
mercantile or manufacturing pursuits are respectable just in proportion to
the capital employed in them, and the desire of every one seems to be to
attain a high point of respectability. Louisville greatly lacks that class
of inhabitants, so useful to a city, who are content to attain wealth by
careful and laborious means, who can commence with the basket of apples
and gradually work up to the proud proprietorship of extensive ware-houses
or factories. There is everywhere prevalent among those who should seek to
rise gradually, a desire to place themselves at once in a rank with the
largest dealers. It is the small dealer and the small manufacturer, who is
content to rise by his own efforts, unaided by factitious means of any
sort, who is needed here. There is abundant room and abundant work for
such, their advent is courted; and, if they will avoid the characteristic
desire for extensive business relations and be content to seek their
fortunes by pains-taking progress, their success is infallibly certain.

It has already been remarked that the aggregate amount of sales in any one
department of business divided by the number of houses engaged in that
business would show a very large result. In this statement reference is
had only to those exclusively wholesale houses, whose sales are made to
dealers. No exclusively retail houses of any sort are placed in the
enumeration, though the sales of many of the retail stores would fully
equal, if indeed they did not exceed, some of the wholesale houses. The
difficulty of reaching any proper account of the retail business will,
however, prevent any notice being taken of it in this volume.

Louisville contains _twenty-five_ exclusively wholesale DRY GOODS houses,
whose sales are made only to dealers and whose market reaches from
Northern Louisiana to Northern Kentucky and embraces a large part of the
States of Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi and
Arkansas. The aggregate amount of annual sales by these houses is _five
million, eight hundred_ and _fifty-three thousand_ (5,853,000) _dollars_,
or an average of _two hundred_ and _thirty-four thousand_ (234,000)
_dollars_ to each house. The sales of three of the largest of these houses
amount in the aggregate to _one million, seven hundred_ and _eighty-nine
thousand_ (1,789,000) _dollars_. Neither this statement nor those which
follow include any auction houses.

In BOOTS & SHOES, the sales of the _eight_ houses of the above description
reach _one million, one hundred_ and _eighty-four thousand_ (1,184,000)
_dollars_, or _one hundred_ and _forty-eight thousand_ (148,000) _dollars_
to each house. The sales of the three largest houses in this business
reach _six hundred_ and _thirty thousand_ (630,000) _dollars_.

The aggregate amount of annual sales by _eight houses_ in DRUGS, &c., is
_one million, one hundred_ and _twenty-three thousand_ (1,123,000)
_dollars_, or _one hundred_ and _forty thousand, three hundred_ and
_seventy-five_ (140,375) _dollars_ to each house; and the sales of the
three largest houses amount to _seven hundred_ and _fifty-three thousand_
(753,000) _dollars_.

The sales of HARDWARE by _nine houses_ amount annually to _five hundred_
and _ninety thousand_ (590,000) _dollars_, being an average of _sixty-five
thousand, five hundred_ and _fifty-five_ (65,555) _dollars_ to each house.

The sales of SADDLERY reach _nine hundred_ and _eighty thousand_ (980,000)
_dollars_, of which nearly one-half are of domestic manufacture.

The sales of HATS and CAPS, necessarily including sales at retail, amount
to _six hundred_ and _eighty-three thousand_ (683,000) _dollars_.

The sales of QUEENSWARE, less reliably taken, reach _two hundred_ and
_sixty-five thousand_ (265,000) _dollars_.

There are _thirty-nine_ wholesale GROCERY houses, whose aggregate sales
reach _ten millions, six hundred_ and _twenty-three thousand, four
hundred_ (10,623,400) _dollars_, which gives an average of _two hundred_
and _seventy-two thousand, four hundred_ (272,400) _dollars_ to each
house. A brief statement of some of the principal annual imports in the
Grocery line will perhaps give a better idea of this business. The figures
refer to the year 1850:

  Louisiana Sugar          15,615 hhds.
  Refined     "            10,100 p'ckgs.
  Molasses                 17,500 bbls.
  Coffee                   42,500 bags.
  Rice                      1,275 tierces.
  Cotton Yarns             17,925 bags.
  Cheese                   25,250 boxes.
  Flour                    80,650 bbls.
  Bagging                  70,160 pieces.
  Rope                     65,350 coils.
  Salt, Kanawha           110,250 bbls.
    "   Turk's Island      50,525 bags.

The following Recapitulatory Table will enable the reader to see at a
glance all that has just been stated:

TABLE.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------
  Description of Business.| No of |Aggregate Annual|Average Sales to
                          |Houses.|     Sales.     |   each house.
  ------------------------|-------|----------------|----------------
  Groceries               |   39  |   $10,623,400  |     $272,400
  Dry Goods               |   25  |     5,853,000  |      234,000
  Boots and Shoes         |    8  |     1,184,000  |      148,000
  Drugs                   |    8  |     1,123,000  |      140,375
  Hardware                |    9  |       590,000  |       65,555
  Queensware              |    6  |       265,000  |       44,166
  Hats, Furs, &c.         |    8  |       683,000  |       85,375
  ------------------------|-------|----------------|----------------
      Total               |  103  |   $20,321,400  |     $197,295
  ------------------------------------------------------------------

It will be seen that these tables do not include many of the largest
departments of business. Beside the houses already mentioned are many
commission houses, whose sales in cotton, tobacco, rope, bagging, hemp,
provisions &c., would very greatly increase the amounts above stated. The
impossibility of procuring accurate and reliable statistics of the amount
of sales by these houses will prevent any attempt to fix the exact ratio
of their business. The Western reader who is at all connected with
commerce does not, however, need to be told that the trade in these
articles in Louisville is of immense extent. The great superiority of this
city as a market for hemp and its products, bagging and rope, is so
obvious, so well known and so widely acknowledged, that any dissertation
upon these merits is unnecessary here.

As a TOBACCO MARKET, Louisville possesses advantages which are not
afforded by any other Western or Southern city. The rapid and healthful
increase in the receipts and sales of this article during the last few
years is of itself sufficient evidence of this fact. Even as early as the
year 1800 the prospects of the city in this regard, though in the distant
future, were looked upon as highly flattering. A Mr. Campbell had at that
time a tobacco ware-house, which was situated opposite Corn Island. This
ware-house was suppressed by the legislature in 1815, and a new one
ordered to be erected at "the mouth of Beargrass." The building thus
directed was located on Pearl Street, about one hundred feet from Main,
and the salary of the Inspector was fixed at L25, currency, per annum.
This inspector resided at some distance from the city, and when a
sufficient quantity of tobacco had been collected at the ware-house to
make it an object, he was sent for to come and perform his duties. The
entire crop did not then exceed 500 hogsheads. There are at present in the
city three large tobacco ware-houses, all receiving and selling daily
immense quantities of this article. Speculators are attracted to this
market from great distances and the receipts are continually upon the
increase. The following table of receipts since 1837 will show how
steadily and securely this increase has been effected:

  1837       2,133 hhds.
  1838       2,783  "
  1839[18]   1,295  "
  1840       3,113  "
  1841       4,031  "
  1842       5,131  "
  1843       5,424  "
  1844              "
  1845       8,454  "
  1846       9,700  "
  1847       7,070  "
  1848       4,937  "
  1849       8,906  "
  1850       7,155  "
  1851      11,300  "
  1852      16,176  "

These figures are of themselves a strong argument in favor of this city as
a market for tobacco. The reasons for the steady and rapid increase in
the receipts of this article, as well as for the opinion that this is the
best market for tobacco in the United States, are very simple, very
convincing and very easily stated. In the first place, it is a fact well
known to all tobacco dealers, that in the three divisions of
Kentucky--to-wit: the Northern, Southern and Middle--a variety of leaf,
suitable to _all_ the purposes of the manufacturer, is grown. In no other
State is so great and so complete a variety of leaf produced. The cigar
maker, the lump manufacturer and the stemmer all find in this State the
article just suited to their various purposes. These tobaccos all
naturally find their way to Louisville as a market, and, of a necessary
consequence, attract buyers to this place. Beside this advantage, another
important point is gained in the presence of the numerous manufacturers of
tobacco in Louisville. These persons, having to compete with the
established markets of older States, offer large prices to the planter and
so attract here great quantities of the article. It is well known that
really fine tobacco, for manufacturing purposes, has brought and will
always command here as high rates as can be had for it at any other point
in the United States. The number of manufacturers is rapidly increasing,
the character of the article which they produce is steadily growing into
favor, and the market for its sale is enlarging every day, so that
planters cannot be so blinded to their interests as to seek foreign
markets for an article which will pay them so handsomely at their own
doors. Again: the facilities for the shipment of the article from this
point to the various Eastern markets are recently so increased that an
entirely new demand has sprung up for Louisville tobacco. Western New
York, Western Pennsylvania, Northern Illinois, Ohio and Michigan, all of
which were formerly obliged to look to New York City for their supplies of
this article, have recently turned their faces westwardly, for the simple
reason that they can now get the same article at less rates of freight and
without the former numerous and onerous commissions. Nor is this the only
benefit procured to these purchasers in choosing this market. It is well
known that, unless tobacco is in unusually excellent order, it is always
seriously injured by being confined on shipboard in its passage through
the warm climate of the Gulf of Mexico and along the coast of the Southern
States. And as Louisville is the only other prominent shipping point for
the article, it has, of course, this great advantage over rival markets.
The facts above enumerated indicate only the prominent and leading reasons
for believing Louisville to be the best tobacco market in the Union. Many
other advantages might be enumerated, but these, which are all
acknowledged and have been demonstrated over and over again, are
considered sufficient to establish the proposition. However much
Louisville has gained in regard to this article, there is yet much to
gain. Her destiny is but beginning to be unfolded, and only a few years
will elapse until the largest of the receipts above quoted will appear
quite insignificant and worthless beside the swollen columns of the
statistician of a future period.

The assertion that Louisville is destined very soon to become
distinguished also as a COTTON MARKET may excite some surprise among
those who have not had their attention called to this matter. But that
this is a fact can readily be shown to the most skeptical. The consumption
of cotton in the West amounts to 35,000 bales, and heretofore this has
constituted the entire demand of this section of the country. But the
recent opening up of new means of communication with the Atlantic coast at
the East has begun and will complete an entirely new state of affairs in
this regard. Let us look for a moment at the effect of these new
facilities of transport. By the 1st of January, 1853, an uninterrupted
communication with the Atlantic at the North will be effected by the lake
route, continuing from 1st of May to 1st of November. At the same time the
Jeffersonville Railroad will have established connection with other
railroads reaching to New York. Beside all of which, the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad will have been completed from Wheeling to Baltimore, from
which point all descriptions of Western produce can reach Philadelphia and
New York, either by railroad, or, more cheaply, by means of propellers,
steamers and sail-vessels. The completion of this latter road will be the
signal for the establishment of a line of steam-packets from Louisville to
Wheeling, another to Memphis, and yet another to Nashville. These lines
are already established and merely wait the completion of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad to go at once into operation. A line of packets to
Tuscumbia and Florence is already in successful operation. The facts above
stated are well known to the community both East and West. It only
remains, therefore, to examine how they will affect Louisville as a
market for cotton. New Orleans, it cannot be denied, has heretofore been
considered the only proper point of shipment for this article, but if both
the seller and the buyer can be benefited by a change of markets, surely
that change will ensue. New Orleans is certainly the natural depot for
Southern cotton, but if the cotton raised in Alabama, Tennessee and North
Mississippi, or that which finds its way to market down the Cumberland and
Tennessee rivers, can be placed in Louisville at less rates of freight
than would be charged to New Orleans, and thence can reach the Eastern
markets in less time and at less rates than from that city, it is surely
the interest of both seller and buyer to make Louisville their market. Now
it is certain that from these points cotton will be carried to Louisville
at one dollar per bale less than to New Orleans; it is equally certain
that insurance can be had via Louisville to New York at _one-half_ the
rates charged via New Orleans, and that freight, after the 1st of January
next, from this city onward, will be the same as from New Orleans; beside
which the time of transit will be thirty days less, thus saving no
inconsiderate sum in interest. Again, the trade of North Alabama,
Tennessee and North Mississippi with this city is ascertained to reach two
and a half millions of dollars. To pay this debt seventy thousand bales of
cotton, valued at seven cents per pound, would be required. Here is
presented another reason why this cotton should seek Louisville as its
natural market. One of our most sagacious and enterprising merchants has
recently returned from the East, where, with laudable energy, he had been
presenting the claims of this market to Eastern buyers. And the result of
this mission is, that reliable arrangements have been made for buying
whatever cotton may come to this market at New Orleans quotations. It is
perfectly safe then to predict from January of next year a spirited and
regular demand for all the cotton which may be sent here. The 140,000
bales produced in Tennessee, or finding its way to market from Tennessee
river, will find ready sale in Louisville and at the regular New Orleans
prices. Can it be doubted, in view of all these facts, that Louisville is
entirely certain to attain prominence as a market for cotton. This has
long been the natural market for the article, and only waited the
completion of lines of connection with the East, which, now they are about
to go into operation, must of necessity make it the _first cotton market
of the Western country_.

Louisville also deserves consideration as a market for pork. This market,
though perhaps less in extent here than in some other Western cities, is
steadily increasing in the amount of its operations and rapidly growing
into favor with the dealers. In 1827 there were but two pork houses in the
city; one of which was owned by Patrick Maxcy and the other by Colmesnil
and O'Beirne. It was then the custom to buy the hog in small lots from the
farmers by means of agents who traveled through the State. These hogs so
procured were concentrated at some point and corn was bought and fed to
them until the time for slaughtering arrived, when they were driven to
this city and here butchered. The number of hogs killed by these two
houses did not then exceed fifteen thousand, while at the end of the pork
season in 1851, this amount had been increased to one hundred and
ninety-five thousand, four hundred and fourteen. It is fully calculated by
the packers that this number will be exceeded ten per cent in the ensuing
year. Both the farmer and the buyer have reasons for prefering this city
as a pork market. The farmer, because it is not the custom here to
"_scale_" the hog--that is, to make a standard weight for which the market
price is given, while all below that point are taken at reduced
figures--and the buyer, because pork is here packed under the same roof
where it is butchered. This last may be considered a small inducement; but
when it is remembered that where the butchering and packing are carried on
by different individuals and in different parts of the city, the hog is
obliged to be transported at all seasons and in all states of weather from
house to house at considerable labor and cost and with danger of damage to
the meat, it will be found an item worthy the serious consideration of the
buyer. The meat put up here is surpassed in quality by none in the world,
and when the facilities of transportation referred to in the above remarks
upon cotton are established, the growth of this city as a pork market will
be yet more rapid than it has before been. There are at present eight
large pork houses in the city. The importance of Louisville as a pork
market is well enough known to need no further elaboration of its merits
in these pages.

The manufacturing interests of Louisville come now to claim their share of
attention. And it is somewhat singular that, with the resources and
capacity of this city as a place for manufactures, there should be so
little to boast of in this regard. Of her commercial statistics, as has
already been shown, Louisville has abundant cause to be proud, but she has
at the same time reason to regret the little use which has heretofore been
made of her immense advantages as a manufacturing point. It is not to be
denied that there are many excellent manufacturing establishments in and
around the city, but the number is greatly below what is needed and
greatly disproportioned to the advantages offered here. There are many
reasons why this city should hold prominent rank as a place for
manufactures. The facilities in the way of water-power, the immense
surface of level and highly productive country by which it is surrounded,
the cheapness of rents and of building lots, and the advantages for
placing the manufactured article in market, are among the most prominent
of these reasons. There is, perhaps, no city in the Union where similarly
great inducements are offered to the judicious and enterprising
manufacturer. And yet the results of commercial enterprise of other sorts
have been so successful and so rapidly produced as to lead away from the
manufacturing interests much capital which would otherwise have been
invested in them. The brilliant success of any one department of trade in
a city has usually led to precisely similar results as are alluded to
here. Of this Cincinnati furnishes a notable example. Her earliest success
was effected by means of her manufactures, and persons seeking investment
for their capital naturally gave it the direction which had already proved
productive. Louisville, on the contrary, owing to her peculiar location,
found her earliest and most promising evidences of prosperity in
commerce, and consequently all the capital seeking employment was
naturally drawn into this channel. And it is unfortunate for Louisville
that this has been true, for however important commercial prosperity may
be to a city, it is far inferior in point of utility and universal profit
to the advantages conferred by successful manufactures. During the last
four or five years this matter has begun to engage the attention of
capitalists and a proper and healthful feeling is rapidly gaining ground
in favor of this branch of trade. Many new factories have already sprung
up, and several more are on the eve of establishment. The public mind is
fully awakened to the necessity for building up and for encouraging the
products of home industry, and the producer has taken new rank in public
estimation. The prejudice which may once have existed against mechanical
employments of all sorts is no longer felt, but the manufacturer and his
employees are held alike high in favor and in social rank.

The following table of manufactures in Louisville is chiefly taken from
the census report of 1850. Additions have been made to the more important
branches of manufacture as far as reliable data could be obtained, so as
to enable the reader to have a comprehensive view of the subject up to the
present time. It is believed that the figures in this table are under the
actual amounts; it is certain, at any rate, that they do not in any
instance exceed the truth. A more extended and special notice of the
principal manufacturing establishments of the city will be given in an
appendix to this volume, to which all who feel an interest in the state of
manufactures here are especially referred.

TABLE OF MANUFACTURES.

  Kind of Manufacture.        No. of          No. of           Annual
                            Factories.        hands.          product.

  Animal Charcoal                 2             12            $15,000
  Awnings and Tents               2             12              7,500
  Artificial Flowers              1              3              6,000
  Bagging Factories               3            120            184,000
  Bakers                         96            332            469,200
  Bandboxes                       3              9              3,800
  Baskets                         3              7              5,400
  Bellows                         2              7             15,000
  Blacking                        3             12              7,500
  Blacksmiths                    49            254            163,400
  Blinds, Venitian                3             12             14,200
  Blocks and Spars                2             12              7,500
  Bootmakers                     63            302            375,100
  Brewers                         6             30            108,600
  Brushes                         2              9              5,813
  Bricks                         36            339            224 000
  Bristle Dressers                1              3              2,500
  Burr Stones                     1              8             12,000
  Boiler Makers                   4             30             64,200
  Candy                           9             56            184,800
  Camphine, &c.                   1              3             31,500
  Carpenters                    144            916          1,027,600
  Cars, &c.                       1            100
  Carpet Weavers                  2             14              6,000
  Coach Makers                    9             98            123.300
  Cotton and Wool                 3            135            173,500
  Clothing                       45          1,157            941,500
  Composition Roofing             1
  Combs                           6             18              9,800
  Coopers                        20             60             56,800
  Cement                          1              4             10,000
  Edge Tools                      2              9             16,000
  Feed and Flour Mills            9             47            283,800
  Flooring and Saw Mills         14            190            420,200
  Fringes, Tassels, &c.           1              6              8,700
  Furniture                      25            446            638,000
  Foundries                      15            930          1,392 200
  Glass Cutters                   1              3             $2,500
  Glue                            2              6              5,000
  Gunsmiths                       4              8             14,000
  Glass                           1             50             50,000
  Hats                            6             68            201,700
  Last Makers                     1              2              2,500
  Lath Makers                     1              4              5,000
  Lock Makers                     6             38             37,400
  Leather Splitter                1              1              1,000
  Lithographers                   2              9             20,000
  Looking Glass, &c.              2             11             12,000
  Machinists[19]                  2              5              6,200
  Marble Workers                  4             41             35,000
  Mathematical Inst. Makers       1              3              6,500
  Mustard                         2             13             21,000
  Musical Inst. Makers            3             60
  Millinery                      35            344            340,000
  Oil Cloth                       2             12             11,500
  Oil Stones                      1              6             22,900
  Oil, Lard and Linseed           3             16            140,000
  Nail                            1              2              3,000
  Paper Mill                      1             36            113,000
  Plane                           3              8             13,000
  Platform Scale                  1             11             12,000
  Patent Medicines               24            127            467,400
  Printing Offices               12            201            214,000
  Plows                           4             32             35,000
  Perfumery                       2             10              8,000
  Pottery                         2             14             11,500
  Pork Houses                     4            475          1,370,000
  Pumps                           3             16             15,100
  Rope                           11            166            460,000
  Saddlery                       17            114            236,000
  Saddle Trees                    1              7              7,500
  Soap and Candles                6             59            409,000
  Starch                          1              8             20,000
  Steamboat Carpenters[20]        4             75           $235,000
  Stocking Weavers                1             10              5,000
  Silversmiths                    4             18             34,500
  Stucco                          1              5              7,000
  Tobacco and Segars             82          1,050          1,347,500
  Tin, Copper, &c.               17             87            122,300
  Tanners                         9             64            176,000
  Trunks                          3             27             29,500
  Turners[21]                     4              8             11,600
  Upholsterers                    5             21             56,000
  White Lead                      1              8             12,600
  Wigs                            1              4              8,000
  Whips                           1              2              1,500
  Wire Workers                    2             12             12,500
  Wagons                         20            144            184,800

To this list may be added the following memoranda of steamboats for 1850.
It has been found impossible to bring this list forward as far as 1852. In
the former year there were employed on 53 steamboats, owned in Louisville,
1,903 hands. The amount of capital invested in these boats was $1,293,300,
and the annual product for freight and passage reached $2,549,200.




CONCLUSION.


In concluding this history it will be well to look back and examine the
ratio of its progress for the last half century, as well in population as
in pecuniary value. This may be done: first, in the following table
showing the increase in numbers of every ten years; and second, in a
tabular view of the assessment of real estate at the end of each similar
term of years. The population of Louisville then, commencing with the year
1800, may be stated as follows:

  1800       600
  1810     1,300
  1820     4,000
  1830    10,090
  1840    21,000
  1850    43,217
  1852    51,726

It will be seen from this table that the city has never shown as rapid an
increase as has been effected in the last two years. This is the result
chiefly of the impulse which has been given to Louisville by her action in
reference to lines of railroad, and other facilities of communication with
distant points, as well as of the fact that a new energy has been infused
into the commercial circles, and more vigorous efforts have consequently
been made to afford to this city that reputation as a commercial mart,
which she has long deserved.

Of the present population of Louisville, no less than 18,000 are Germans,
and this number is daily being augmented by arrivals from the fatherland.
It would perhaps be no more than just to say that these foreigners form,
as a body, one of the best classes of our population. They are a careful,
pains-taking and industrious people, of quiet, unobtrusive and inoffensive
manners; and are, in a majority of instances, men of some education and
ability. The better class of this population are rapidly rising in public
estimation, and while they are becoming in a measure identified with the
native citizens, and so Americanized, the influence of their philosophic
habits of mind, of their thoughtfulness, and of their love of the
beautiful in nature and in art, is gradually incorporating itself into the
social life of the city, and so adding to each some of the advantages
possessed by the other. The German character, in its higher developements,
displays many attributes which are wanting, in more senses than one to our
native population. From the educated German, we may learn that
enthusiastic love and reverence for the intellectual and for the beautiful
in all its phases, whether of nature, of sentiment, or of art, which is
inherent in his character, and which gives to life so much of its charm;
while by us he is taught that practicality must be the basis of his
philosophy, and that without a certain admixture of utilitarianism his
sentiment is mawkish and unmanly, and his theories are idly speculative
and puerile. Thus each class imbibes from the other what it most needs,
and society reaps the benefits of the union. The German population is also
useful to the city in a political point of view. They serve as the
"filling up" to the picture. As has been recently said: "The bulk of the
population of every city, perhaps two out of three, are small
manufacturers or artisans of some description or other, and those
dependent on them; of the sewers together of clothing, the makers of toys,
confectionary, and jewelry, the compounders of materials used in medicine
and the arts, the furnishers of the toilet, the parlor, and the kitchen,
the fabricators of iron, wood, and stone into forms required by the uses
or fancies of man. Think of the amount of our yearly purchases of Boston
bonnets, New York caps, and Philadelphia shoes, and of the thousand, the
innumerable articles that our retail and fancy dealers pick up in the
lanes, alleys, and cellars of those cities, articles which were made for
Western demand, for the very market of which this is the natural, and
ought to be the commercial center. To this kind of population we are to
look for increase, these hand workers are to cover our vacant lots, and
consume the products of our surrounding agriculturists; they come in
silently, and go to work unnoticed; the grocer at the corner, the baker,
and the brewer, build higher houses, and are men of more noise and note,
and we forget that for every one of the latter there must be one hundred
of the former."[22]

It is precisely the class spoken of in the foregoing extract that is being
built up, and is yet to be built up by the German citizens in Louisville.
And, notwithstanding the number already here, there is yet room and work
for many more. As has already been said the advent of artizans of this
class is desired by the city, and, if they can be content to rise to
wealth by slow and steady increase rather than by rapid strides of
progress, their success is infallibly certain. Other inducements will
also be offered to this and to other classes of people, seeking homes and
investments, in considering the value of real estate in Louisville. Let us
first look at the progress of property valuation during the last half
century, as shown in the following table. The assessment valuation of
property was, in

  1800           $91,183
  1810           210,475
  1820         1,655,226
  1830         4,316,432
  1840[23]    13,340,164
  1850        13,350,566
  1852        16,350,052

This valuation is much smaller than that of the same quantity of property
would be in any other American city, and this very fact has been urged
against Louisville by her rival neighbors. They insist that the low price
of property here is a proof that the trade of the city is not progressive,
that hence no inducements are offered, either to the emigrant or to the
capitalist. A slight examination of the subject, however, will show why
property has not advanced here in the same ratio as in other cities, and
will also demonstrate the fact that the very argument which is urged
against Louisville, is really a matter of serious congratulation to her.
It is not denied that land can be had within one mile south of the center
of the city at from two to three hundred dollars per acre, whereas land
similarly situated either in Pittsburg, Cincinnati, St. Louis or New
Orleans would command nearly, if not quite four times that price. On the
contrary, it is urged that this should be and that it is at once claimed
as a strong recommendation both to the capitalist and to the emigrant, in
favor of this city. The reason why this difference exists in favor of
Louisville, is thus plainly shown. If the reader will take up the map of
Kentucky and Indiana, and, commencing at the mouth of Harrod's Creek,
which empties into the Ohio river eight miles above the city, will draw a
line down to a point five miles below the mouth of Salt river, and another
line thence southwardly for a distance of sixteen miles; and from this
point draw a gradually decreasing arc back to the point of beginning, he
will have enclosed a space of country, every foot of which is entirely
level, is delightfully watered, abounds in building material of every
description, and is equally as well suited to all purposes of building, as
are the best lots now within the city limits. Nor is this all; crossing
the Ohio river at the foot of the Indiana Knobs, one mile below New
Albany, and going north-east a distance of sixteen miles, and thence back
to the Ohio river at or near Utica, a triangle is formed whose base is
twelve miles long, and whose other legs reach about twenty miles to the
apex. The space embraced within this triangle possesses precisely the same
characteristics as that contained in the arc above mentioned. When it is
remembered, as has been said by another writer upon the same subject, that
we have "no need to encroach on arms of the sea as at Boston or New York,
or to raze hills in the rear as at Pittsburg and Cincinnati, or to make
embankments and to reclaim swamps as at New Orleans," but on the
contrary, that we possess a location where building lots equally good,
both as to site and material, may be had at one mile and at ten miles
distant from the center of the city, the mystery of our cheap lots begins
to be evolved. Here is a space of level country beyond the reach of any
flood, all parts of which are equally well adapted to the purposes of the
builder, sufficiently large to contain within its limits the cities of
London, Paris, and St. Petersburg, with the foundation for a large city
already laid, with a location which, in reference to facilities of
intercourse with the rest of the United States, is unsurpassed; at the
only point of obstruction in a continuous line of two thousand miles of
inland navigation; a half-way house between North and South; a point
through which all the great railroad arteries must of necessity pass; in
the center of the most fertile and productive agricultural lands in the
Union; in a State distinguished for the nobility and chivalry of character
of its inhabitants, with every advantage which nature can give to the
merchant, the manufacturer or the idle man of wealth and fashion; what is
there, in view of all these circumstances, to prevent it from becoming the
Great City of the West? What other inducements could be asked either by
the capitalist at home or the emigrant from abroad? Does the cheapness of
property or do the low prices of rents prove obstacles to either of these
classes of people? Does the fertility of the surrounding country, and the
consequent cheapness of the markets draw away any who might otherwise be
attracted hither? Is one of these present the reason why Louisville is not
already what she must inevitably become, the first city in the West. The
reason is contained in the fact, not that these things are true, but that
being true, they are not known. It is to her own supineness, to her
indifference and lack of ambition to attain the rank to which she is
entitled, that she is indebted for her second-rate position. Had the
energy of the last two years been invested ten years ago, and been
continued till now, the population of Louisville would to-day have been
one hundred thousand souls. But she has been content to sit languidly down
to the enjoyment of the passing hour, while her competitors were bracing
every nerve and straining every muscle, not only to surpass her in the
race for supremacy, but to disable and destroy her. She has at last
awakened to a sense of her position, her lethargy is at last thrown off,
and now the struggle begins in earnest. If it be continued in earnest it
is easy to see that she can rapidly regain her place, and easily bear off
the palm.

Let us look for a moment at the geographical position of Louisville, and
her facilities of intercourse with other portions of the country. The
following table of distances, time, conveyance and cost will readily show
this:

  +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
  |From Louisville to|Dist'ce.|  Time.    |     Conveyance.     | Cost. |
  |------------------|--------|-----------|---------------------|-------|
  |Pittsburg         |     608|  60 Hours.|     Steamboat.      | $7 50 |
  |Cincinnati        |     150|  14   "   |          "          |  2 50 |
  |Memphis           |     643|  60   "   |          "          |  8 00 |
  |New Orleans       |    1365| 240   "   |          "          | 20 00 |
  |St. Louis         |     535|  40   "   |          "          |  8 00 |
  |Nashville         |     176|  33   "   |       Stage.        | 12 00 |
  |New York          |    1080|  60   "   |Steamboat & Railroad.| 22 00 |
  |Boston            |    1135|  62   "   |     "         "     | 25 00 |
  |Philadelphia      |     793|  54   "   |     "         "     | 20 00 |
  |Washington        |     736|  52   "   |     "         "     | 19 00 |
  |Baltimore         |     696|  50   "   |     "         "     | 17 50 |
  +---------------------------------------------------------------------+

In a very few years, Cincinnati, Nashville and St. Louis, will be
connected with us by railroads, which are already partly completed, and so
reduce the time to those cities to six, eight, and twelve hours
respectively. These communications once established, Louisville becomes
the very center of a vast network of roads, connecting different climates,
the products of different soils and regions of every diversity of wealth.
The railroad to Nashville connects immediately with Charleston, and thence
opens roads to New Orleans and Mobile; while in another direction it
reaches Richmond, Va., passing through immense tracts of rich agricultural
and mineral lands. The railroad to Cincinnati opens to us the whole North
and East; while that to St. Louis will ultimately bring to our doors the
products of the Pacific Coast and the treasures of the modern El Dorado.
Add to all these advantages the unavoidable effects of these railroads, in
bringing to light all the possible wealth of the countries through which
they pass, and then say if anything but the most criminal neglect of the
advantages which Nature has given her, can prevent Louisville from
arriving at the most prominent rank among Western cities. Does the
capitalist desire an investment? Where can he better find it than near a
city thus situated, and one where lands are sold at less prices, and
building materials are cheaper and are more accessible than in any other
city of the Union? Does the emigrant desire a home? Where can he better
find it than near a city thus situated, one where the whole of his little
fortune is not required to buy him a shelter from the winds and the rain,
one that is yet unfilled with eager competitors in the struggle for
wealth, one where the products of his industry are needed and will be
eagerly taken from his hands at their fair value, one where he can have
not only a field for his own struggle with the world, but a place and a
circle of friends possessing all those attributes which make a home happy?
It cannot be but that as publicity is given to these advantages possessed
by this city, she will attract to her thousands of emigrants from abroad,
and thousands of capitalists and adventurers from other parts of our
country. While other cities have been spending time and means and
influence in advocating their claims to consideration, Louisville has been
silent. She gives publicity to her merits now for the first time, and, by
this humble little missive, she begs only for a fair hearing and for an
unbiassed consideration of her claims to public favor, satisfied that if
these can be secured her, she need have no fear that the highest dreams of
ambition which have ever been presented to her will be fully realized.




APPENDIX.


  LOUISVILLE ROLLING MILL COMPANY,
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  BOILER, BAR, AND SHEET IRON,
  (CHARCOAL AND PUDDLED.)
  Flue Plates; Railroad Axles, Chairs and Spikes,
  PLOW SLABS, WINGS, BOLTS, &C.
  Office and Store 640 Main street, corner Fifth.
  J. C. COLEMAN, President.

This establishment is one of the largest in the city and forms a very
important branch of Louisville manufactures; not only in the way of
affording employment and the means of living to a large number of persons,
but also by attracting from every part of this Great Valley an important
branch of its trade. The company is organized in the best possible manner;
the mill contains all the scientific improvements in this description of
manufacture, and the energetic President of the company possesses all the
requisites which could tend to guarantee the success of the concern. The
Iron made here has been fully tested all over the West and commands every
market into which it is introduced. The company have testimonials of the
most flattering character from all the iron-workers of Louisville, who
pronounce it "_fully equal if not superior to any Iron they have ever
worked_, and more uniform in its quality than any other Iron." Similar
testimonials have been received from the superintendents of the Louisville
and Frankfort, the New Albany and Salem, the Jeffersonville, the Vicksburg
and Jackson, and other Railroads, as well as from Col. Long,
superintendent of the U. S. Marine Hospital. The following letter is a
fair specimen of the favor with which the company's Iron is everywhere
regarded, and is only one of many such constantly received by them. It is
dated

  CLEVELAND, OHIO, May 1, 1852.

We are now using, and have, within the past year, used some fifty tons of
the Louisville Rolling Mill Iron, for large Bolts for Railroad Bridges in
Indiana. The Iron for this work must be of very superior quality, uniting
great strength and tenacity. All the Iron we received of the Louisville
Rolling Mill was of that character, and gave great satisfaction.

  THATCHER, BURT & CO.,
  Railroad Bridge Contractors.


  FULTON FOUNDRY.
  GLOVER, GAULT & CO.
  (SUCCESSORS TO INMAN, GAULT & CO.)
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  STEAM ENGINES
  For Marine and Land purposes, and
  MACHINE CASTINGS OR ALL DESCRIPTIONS,
  Main street, near corner of Ninth.

This is believed to be the oldest Foundry in Louisville, and one of the
largest and most extensive in the Western country. Their engines have a
wide-spread reputation in the West and South, and are well known and
highly prized by Southern boat builders. Their fidelity in materials and
workmanship, their promptness in the execution of orders, and their
extensive assortment of the latest and most improved style of tools and
patterns, combined with the well-known enterprise of the gentlemen who
compose the firm, have all contributed to build up for this establishment
a business and a reputation which reflects credit upon this branch of
manufacture in the city. Steam engines are built by them in complete
running order and ready for use, the purchaser not being required to go to
any other factory for any of his order. Their business relations extend
over a very large surface of country, and bring to the city much foreign
trade. Besides their engines for boats, they also manufacture machinery of
all kinds, Car wheels, Axles and Car castings of all descriptions,
together with Iron and Brass castings and Wrought Iron work.

This foundry employs one hundred and twenty hands, and uses six hundred
tons of pig iron annually, besides other materials in proportion.


  UNION FOUNDRY.

  ROACH & LONG,
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  STEAM MACHINERY
  OF EVERY DESCRIPTION,
  SUGAR MILLS, COTTON GINS, &C., &C.
  Main street, near Ninth.

This concern, although not so old as many of its class is yet one
deserving especial notice. The description of the business of this foundry
differs very little, if at all, from some of those already noticed. The
quality of work is in the highest degree creditable to the proprietors and
profitable to this department of manufactures in the city. Both members of
the firm are thorough practical workmen, having been regularly brought up
to the business, and hence the work which proceeds from this foundry
compares favorably, not only with any in the city, but with similar kinds
of manufactures in any part of the country. Like most of our large machine
foundries, the Union has extensive connection with the Southern
markets.--They have frequently forwarded as many as seven cotton-gins
within a fortnight, to different ports on the Mississippi river. Their
Sugar Mills, wherever they have been used, are eminently successful in
their operation. The casting of Chairs and Frogs for Railroads has also
been extensively carried on at this foundry. In the great department of
their business, the manufacture of Steam Engines for Boats, the Union
Foundry enjoys a reputation which cannot be anywhere surpassed. They have
built all sizes of engines, and are at present engaged upon a pair of
engines with thirty inch cylinder and ten foot stroke. Indeed the heaviest
castings of all sorts are constructed as readily and perfectly as the
lightest, and are made to work with equal ease and precision.

The Union Foundry employs eighty-four hands the "year round," and consumes
six hundred tons of metal.


  KENTUCKY
  BRASS FOUNDRY
  AND MACHINE SHOP.

  LAWSON & FRANK.
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  STEAM AND FIRE ENGINES,
  BAGGING MACHINERY, &C.
  Main street, near Ninth.

This well known Brass Foundry, now in the fifteenth year of its existence,
is another of those factories which are ornaments to the city. It has
never attempted the heavy steamboat castings, rather choosing the lighter
machinery; and the reputation of the establishment is derived chiefly from
the excellent finish and completeness of the work turned out. The most
complex machinery is carefully and accurately made and fitted together.
All work requiring nicety of construction and careful attention to detail,
is here manufactured, and in a manner which has always given entire
satisfaction.

Every article is made under the immediate supervision of the proprietors,
who are practical workmen and whose past reputation is a sure guarantee
for the quality of every piece of work. The Fire Engines, and machinery
for Hemp manufacture made at this establishment are deservedly
celebrated.--

Some of the most effective fire engines of this city and vicinity, have
been constructed at this foundry. The Brass work made there is also
creditable.

From thirty-five to forty hands are employed constantly; the business,
unlike that of most foundries, being equally good at all seasons of the
year.


  HYDRAULIC FOUNDRY.

  TEVIS & BARBAROUX,
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  CAST IRON SCREW PIPE,
  IRON RAILING, ORNAMENTAL CASTINGS,
  PATENT PUMPS, &C., &C.
  WASHINGTON ST. COR. FLOYD.

This foundry possesses many features which are peculiar to it alone. It is
only here that Cast Iron Screw pipes are made; no other manufactory of
this article exists in the Western States. The machinery used in this
manufacture is beautiful in its construction, and perfectly adapted to the
use for which it is intended. All the Gas pipes for the city, as well the
main, as the smaller service pipes are made at this establishment. Many of
these screw pipes are used in the Southern sugar houses, and their
cheapness and durability, as well as the convenience with which they are
put up, especially recommend them for that purpose. For supplying rail
road stations, distilleries and tan yards they are also largely used. The
demand for this article of so universal use is of course very great, and
attracts much attention to Louisville manufacture. This foundry also
manufactures a pump, well known to be the best forcing and lift pump in
existence. Many hundreds of them are annually sold in New Orleans, and
their reputation and sale all over the South is of the very first
character. Tobacco Screws and Presses for Cotton, Tobacco and Hay as well
as machinery generally, are also made here. Iron Railing is another large
branch of their manufacture. The patterns for this railing are almost
endless in variety, and few foundries in the country can offer so many
inducements to the purchasers of all sorts of ornamental Castings as this.
Their latest novelty is a Morticing machine, which is worthy of the
special attention of mechanics. This establishment employs fifty hands,
and is the only one of the kind in the city.


  NOVELTY WORKS

  BEATTY & HAWLEY,
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  STEAM-MADE COCKS AND FAUCETS
  AND
  BRASS FOUNDERS,
  North side Main Street between Eighth and Ninth.

This factory, which has been but recently put into operation, is the
deliberate result of several years consideration and study. Messrs. Beatty
and Hawley, the former of whom has been long and well known in Louisville
as a sagacious practical manufacturer and man of business, have finally
completed all the arrangements which are necessary to the establishment of
this foundry on thoroughly scientific principles, and have possessed
themselves of all the advantages to be derived from a complete study of
the business. The concern is by no means an ordinary brass foundry. The
West has heretofore sadly needed an establishment of this kind, those
already in operation being incompetent to the wants of the people. The
factory is now thoroughly organized, the best workmen have been employed,
the most recent and useful tools and machinery have been provided and
everything has been done with reference to a permanent and valuable
business. Cylinder, Pump, Guage and Oil Cocks, Oil Cups, Fawcetts,
Couplings and all like requirements of the Steam Engine builder are made
here and warranted fully equal to any made in the United States. The same
may be said with reference to articles used by the house plummer. Their
planing machines, lathes, &c., are of the very best quality, and their
machines for screw-cutting and for punching nuts and washers are also very
perfect. Bells, Steam-Whistles, and in fine every variety of article
manufactured from brass or bell metal will be made at this foundry. Babbet
metal and such other like compositions as are useful to the machinest or
brass founder are also sold at this establishment.


  MARKET STREET FOUNDRY.

  C. S. SNEAD, AGENT,
  MANUFACTURERS OF ALL KINDS OF
  ORNAMENTAL AND ARCHITECTURAL IRON WORK,
  Market Street, between Eighth and Ninth.

This Foundry directs its attention more particularly to a new branch of
business, in which it also has been eminently successful. It adds yet a
greater number to the already large variety of uses to which iron is
applied. Mr. Snead is the pioneer of this business in Louisville, and his
is the only establishment in the West where ornamental work is the chief
business of the foundry. It is well known that Iron can be applied to
almost all work of this description, and furnished at less price than any
other kind of material. The city abounds with proofs of the taste
displayed by this gentleman in his manufacture. His efforts have been
constantly directed toward attaining the highest degree of excellence,
both in design and execution, and he is constantly preparing novelties and
adapting his pliant material to new and valuable uses. Among the latest of
these novelties may be mentioned a cast-iron Pavement for the sidewalk,
which is composed of nicely fitting plates of Iron, in various forms of
mosaic work, ornamented with graceful designs. This pavement, which will
soon be exhibited, will doubtless at once take the place of the present
destructible and uncomfortable footways, as it is not only more beautiful
but far more durable. Iron counters for fancy stores form another
improvement proceeding from this foundry. Cast Girders for the builder is
also a novel article. The patterns for this establishment, already greater
than would readily be credited, are daily augmented by additional designs
from competent and tasteful hands. Store-fronts, Porticos for churches and
private dwellings, Corinthian, Ionic, Doric, Composite and Gothic columns,
cast Lintels and Sills for windows and doors, Brackets and Trusses of the
most ornamental designs, Flue Covers, Chimney Covers, Vault Gratings, Air
Grates, Stair Plates, Bedsteads, Window Frames and Sash, Hat Racks, Caps
and bases for columns of any order, and numerous other like articles, are
made at this foundry. Spittoons, Grate-bars, Hollow-ware, Tea-Kettles,
&c., also form a part of their work. The continued success of this foundry
is a proof of the existence of a high order of taste in the city.


  LOUISVILLE
  STOVE & GRATE
  FOUNDRY.

  D. & J. WRIGHT & Co.
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  STOVES, GRATES,
  COPPER, TIN, AND SHEET IRON WARE.
  NO. 432 MAIN STREET.

This immense establishment was organized by Messrs. Bridgeford & Holbrook
as early as 1837, and was the first foundry for stoves in the city. The
articles manufactured at this establishment, are well known as bearing a
high reputation all over the West. The gentlemen who compose the firm are
men of enterprise, and are always the first to present the latest
novelties in patterns or workmanship. They manufacture a large part of the
sheet iron steamboat stoves which are used on the western rivers, and have
a deservedly great name among steamboat furnishers. The large and
commodious building erected by them as a foundry, is a proof of the
prosperity which has attended their endeavors. The work sent from this
establishment, whether of the most ordinary kinds or of the finest and
most elegant enamelled ware, will compare very favorably with that of any
other establishment in the West. They consume annually in their foundry
about twelve hundred tons of iron, and employ one hundred hands; while the
tin and copper factory uses and vends three thousand boxes of tin plate,
and from $15,000 to $20,000 worth of sheet copper, wire, block tin, sheet
zinc, lead, lead pipe, &c. Two thousand bundles of sheet and rod iron are
also annually employed. The establishment is one which reflects great
credit upon its proprietors, and forms an important part of Louisville
Manufactures.


  EAGLE FOUNDRY.

  WALLACE, LITHGOW & CO.
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  STOVES, GRATES,
  HOLLOW WARE,
  COPPER, TIN, AND SHEET IRON WORK.
  NO. 536 MAIN STREET.

This foundry may be regarded as having been the first to introduce into
the city the manufacture of the present extensive and complete variety of
the finer sorts of stove work. The principals of the establishment,
themselves practical workmen, have used much well-directed exertion to
produce quite a revolution in the style of manufacture of the articles
which come from their foundry. They have not only been early to introduce
novelties from abroad, but have themselves patented many valuable
articles. Among them the Eclipse Range, a cooking stove possessing
numerous advantages over most of those now known, is deserving of especial
mention. This range is in very common use all over the city, and is highly
prized wherever it is known. They are also manufacturers of a great
variety of elegant enamelled grates, garden vases and ornamental figures
for gardens and yards. These latter articles have recently been introduced
by these gentlemen, and they are being rapidly transferred from their
warehouses to the many beautiful grounds of our wealthier citizens.

Their foundry and buildings cover about half a square of ground; they
employ one hundred and twelve hands, and melt daily seven tons of iron.
Their importation of tin plate reaches four thousand three hundred and
fifty boxes. Copper, zinc, wire, sheet iron, &c., are also used in immense
quantities. The latest novelty of this establishment is Chilson's Air
Warming and Ventilating Furnace for public and private buildings.


  FALLS CITY
  Stove & Grate Foundry.

  McDERMOTT, McGRAIN & Co.,
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  STOVES, GRATES AND CASTINGS,
  COPPER, TIN AND SHEET IRON WARE,
  No. 73 Fourth Street.

This foundry, begun by Meadows & McGrain, is another well known
establishment. The castings made by these gentlemen bear an equally high
reputation with those already noticed. The firm has since its commencement
been constantly improving in the quantity of its manufactured articles,
and has added many valuable improvements to the stock of the stove
founder. Among these may be noticed three new styles of cooking stove, all
of which have attained a deserved celebrity. These are called "_The
Stove_," "_Durable Kentuckian_," and the "_Queen Premium_." The first of
these is suited to the wants of the city, being economical in the use of
its fuel, and having attached to it a "summer arrangement," which does
away with the extreme heat of the ordinary cooking stove. The oven is also
so arranged that both bread and meat may be baked at the same time without
imparting the taste of the one to the other. The second stove, the
Kentuckian, is particularly adapted to the wants of the farmers, being
large, roomy, and of unusual weight and durability. All of these stoves
have met the entire approbation of those who have used them. Large
quantities of Hollow Ware, such as pots, kettles, skillets, ovens, odd
lids, &c., are cast at this foundry, and sold as well to the city as to
country dealers. The common stoves made at the Falls City Foundry, are of
excellent patterns and unusual weight; it not being the custom of this
establishment in any case to sacrifice utility to ornament. All the
articles usually made by the tinner also form a branch of their
manufactory. These gentlemen receive large quantities of job-work, which,
as is well known, they execute in a superior manner.


  HOPE FOUNDRY.

  GEO. MEADOWS,
  MANUFACTURER OF
  STOVES, GRATES, HOLLOW WARE,
  TEA KETTLES, SAD IRONS,
  ARCHITECTURAL AND OTHER CASTINGS.
  Foundry, Main Street between Thirteenth and Fourteenth.
  Ware House, 367 Main Street.

This Foundry, although recently established, is under the charge of a
gentleman who is well known as having been long connected with this
business in the city, and as bearing a very high reputation as a
master-workman. The details of this business differ little from those
already noticed. The quality of the work which proceeds from the Hope
Foundry is surpassed by none in any part of the country. The sole
difference between this and the stove foundries, already noticed, is found
in the fact that great attention is here paid to architectural and
job-work. Mr. M's skill in the operations of the foundry, and his constant
presence and attention to all his work, recommend this establishment, in
the highest manner, to all who desire to get up any novelty or to prepare
any peculiar work. This foundry is as yet in its infancy, having been
organized less than a year ago. It has already acquired an excellent
business, and now finds ready sale for all the articles which can be
produced. It is entirely safe to predict for it a speedy rise to great
eminence. The factory is so arranged as to be readily extended to any
capacity which may be desired, and the constantly increasing demand for
this species of manufacture in the city, and its dependancies, will
doubtless soon bring about this increase. It will be seen that Louisville
is abundantly supplied with Foundries, and that the extent of work done in
this line is of very great importance to her interests.


  HAYS & COOPER,
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  WAGONS, PLOWS, CULTIVATORS, AND CASTINGS
  FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES,
  Corner Main and Hancock Streets.

This is the largest establishment of the kind in the western country, and
is alike a credit to its proprietors and an honor to the city. The
machinery used is of the most perfect order, and the concern is indebted
to its own inventive powers for a great part of its completeness. The
proprietors are both practical workmen, and they give their constant
attention to all the details of their manufacture. The consequences of
this care and attention are shown in the widely spread reputation of their
manufactured articles. The chief market of these articles is found in the
southern States and in Texas. It is greatly to the credit of this factory
that their articles are so readily taken up by the planters, for it is
well known that inferior agricultural machines and implements find no
buyers among this class of consumers. In Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas
and Tennessee, the machines and implements of this firm are universally
known, and possess an enviable reputation. Messrs. H. & C. have introduced
machinery by which one man can produce as many iron axles in a day as can
usually be made by thirty hands, and the article so made is far more
perfect than the old and tediously constructed one. They have also a small
and ingenious saw of their own invention, for cutting felloes, and for
sawing crooked lines, which for rapidity and precision cannot be anywhere
surpassed. They also manufacture on their premises every article and every
part of every article, which they sell. Plows, wagons, carts, timber
wheels, harrows, cultivators, and other articles are made entirely on the
premises, from the raw material into the perfect and finished article.
They employ thirty hands, and produce from eighty to one hundred thousand
dollars worth of work annually. Beside this establishment there are four
other plow manufacturers, and twenty-one other wagon makers.


  BENJ. F. AVERY,
  MANUFACTURER OF
  PLOWS
  AND
  CULTIVATORS.
  Main St. bet. Floyd & Preston.

It is a proof of the prosperity of a city when manufactories of so
exclusive a character as the one before us not only exist but are
handsomely sustained. Some five years ago Messrs. B. F. & D. H. Avery
commenced the manufacture of the since celebrated Livingston County Plow.
It was with difficulty that the prejudices of the agricultural community
in favor of other instruments were overcome, but by dint of industrious
exertion the plow slowly gained the confidence of the community until it
now holds, in several of the Southern and Western States, the very first
rank as a plow. It is worthy of notice, as a proof of the enterprise of
this firm, that each year since it was first introduced they have been
obliged to double the number of plows made the preceding year. A few
months since Messrs. B. F. & D. H. Avery dissolved their firm and Mr. B.
F. Avery has now sole charge of the establishment. He has recently made
some valuable improvements upon his plow, which will make its utility
still more general. The new plow is found excellent for after-cultivation,
and in connection with the old one makes his stock of plows fully adequate
to every variety of American soil. Mr. B. F. Avery has spent some
twenty-five years in this species of manufacture, and his experience is
alone a proof of the value of his invention. His business, though already
very large, is growing rapidly every year.


  EDWARD HOLBROOK,
  MANUFACTURER OF
  CHEWING TOBACCO,
  CIGARS, &c.
  No. 474 MAIN STREET.

This extensive tobacco factory, established some twelve years ago, is one
of the most important in the city. It was commenced at a time when
Kentucky manufactured tobacco found very little market in the cities of
the United States, but has grown with astonishing rapidity and vigor. Mr.
Holbrook is an old dealer in tobacco, and has acquired great sagacity in
the selection of the article suited to the various departments of
manufacture. His skill as a manufacturer is also worthy of notice. For
many years he has been employed in testing the value of the various
methods of producing the finest qualities of Chewing Tobacco, and has
added many valuable improvements to the ordinary methods of manufacturing
the article. By the industry and enterprise of this gentleman and his
fellow tobacconists, the Louisville-made article has driven entirely out
of market all the medium and lower brands of Virginia tobacco, and readily
competes with even the higher brands of this favorite manufacture. The
business of this factory is extended over a large surface of country. From
the Lakes at the North to New Orleans, this tobacco is not only rapidly
bought up, but is eagerly inquired for. Barker & Co., of Detroit, Mich.,
write to Mr. H.: "We have orders _daily_, which we cannot fill for want of
your tobacco." Preston & Bros., of Evansville, write: "This tobacco gives
good satisfaction." Twitty & Smith, of New Orleans, say: "We doubt not,
speedy satisfactory sales may be made of several hundred boxes by 1st of
September." Rawson, Wilby & Co., of Cincinnati, under date of June 7,
1852, write: "_We have a market for all the tobacco you can manufacture_."
Hundreds of similar letters could be shown from various points. These
however will be sufficient to establish the character of the article.


  UNION FACTORY.

  MUSSELMAN & CO.
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  CHEWING TOBACCO,
  Sixth Street, near Main.

This is the oldest tobacco factory in the city, and was the first which
managed successfully to introduce this article. Previous to the
establishment of this factory, all descriptions of chewing tobacco were
brought from Virginia. Almost any other manufacturers would have sunk
under the distrust and ill-will evinced by dealers of every class against
this tobacco in the earliest years of its introduction. It was difficult
at first to persuade the dealers even to receive the article on
commission--and prodigious efforts were then required to overcome the
prejudice against western made tobacco. The gentlemen who are at the head
of the firm, however, fully persuaded of the value of their manufacture,
and knowing it needed only to be known to be appreciated, continued their
exertions, and finally succeeded in reaching the market. The results were
great beyond their expectation. In 1832, the first iron tobacco press was
brought by them to this city; ten years have elapsed, and nearly two
hundred presses are now in full operation. The Union Factory merited and
has received its full share of the benefit of this increase. The tobacco
made by them competes with the best Virginia article, and has completely
supplanted all the inferior qualities of that tobacco. The city dealers
are almost entirely supplied by this factory, and hundreds of boxes are
daily sent abroad. Their tobacco has found a market even in the distant
California. Several hundred boxes were recently shipped to that point by
the way of New York. A great revolution has been effected in this article
by these gentlemen, thousands of dollars have been added to the trade of
the city, and an entirely new market has been created by them. They have
not only richly merited the success which has awaited them, but they also
deserve much at the hands of the friends of the city for their sagacity
and enterprise in this regard.


  J. F. BAST,
  MANUFACTURER OF
  FINE CIGARS,
  SMOKING TOBACCOS
  AND
  SNUFFS,
  Main Street, between Second and Third.

This is an old and well established firm, and one of those which have
risen to eminence from small beginnings. The manufacture of cigars, Mr.
Bast shares in common with some hundreds of others, though his
establishment is by far the largest in the city, but in the making of
snuff he is without a rival. The attention of this factory is principally
directed to the manufacture of the finer quality of cigars, though many
common cigars are made here. Mr. B. is himself an accomplished workman,
and his articles may be entirely depended upon. There are about three
millions of cigars made and sold here annually. The smoking tobacco from
this factory is eagerly sought for wherever it is known; its superior
quality and cheapness making a ready market for it wherever introduced.
Mr. B.'s manufacture of snuff also forms a large branch of this business.
The peculiar quality of this article consists in its entire adaptation to
every climate, and its capacity for withstanding the influences of time.
It may be transported everywhere, and kept for any length of time without
receiving injury. Mr. B.'s sales at wholesale are not confined merely to
the usual country trade; many of his articles find their way in large
quantities to the great cities, and many of his brands receive
distinguished preference in these places. Beside his own manufactured
articles Mr. B. imports choice pipes, snuff boxes, cigar cases, and
similar fancy articles. As a retailer, his store is celebrated as the
resort of all the connoisseurs in smoking, snuffing, and their various
equipments.


  CHRISTOPHER & STANCLIFF,
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  RAIL ROAD CARS,
  AND OF
  SASH, BLINDS, DOORS, &C.
  CORNER OE EIGHTH AND GREEN.

This factory was organized three years ago on a very extensive scale, with
a view to supplying the demand for Sashes, Doors, and other like articles
for the builder or the house carpenter. Since its commencement, however,
it has constantly increased both in the amount and variety of work, until
it has come to be one of the largest establishments in the city. Enormous
buildings have been put up at great expense, new machinery of various
kinds has been added to the original supply, experienced workmen have been
brought from the older cities, and everything has been effected which
could contribute to place the concern on an equality in point of capacity
with any similar establishment in the country. The manufacture of railroad
cars is a new department of the business; created by the growing necessity
for procuring such work at home. The cars made by these gentlemen have all
the new improvements known to the car builder, and are beautiful specimens
of handicraft. In this immense factory, the painter, the turner, the
blacksmith, the cabinet maker, the car builder, the upholsterer, and the
carpenter, all find employment at their various trades. All the screws,
nuts, &c., used in the factory, are made on the premises by machinery. The
gentlemen who compose the firm, are entirely competent to the management
of their diversified business, and great credit is due them for the
promptness and excellence with which they execute all descriptions of
their work.


  J. N. BREEDEN & CO.
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  DOORS, BLINDS, SASH,
  FLOORING
  AND
  DRESSED PLANK,
  No. 622 MAIN STREET.

This large and well organized mill is well known to western builders. It
is one of those conveniences which are found only in large cities, where
the builder can find ready made to his hand all that is necessary for the
interior and exterior wood work of his house. Boards are taken from the
lumber yard, and by machinery planed and moulded into all the forms
necessary for the house carpenter, thus saving all the tedious hand labor,
and reducing the enormous expense which has attended the building of
houses. The majority of planing mills have never attempted more than the
preparation of work for cheap houses; but this establishment before us has
specimens of its manufacture in some of the finest residences in and about
the city. The proprietors of this mill are devoting much attention to the
finer departments of work, and their success is at once complete and
merited. The feeling which once existed against the work of the planing
mill, is rapidly disappearing before the exertions of these gentlemen;
they have supplied such large quantities of work of all sorts, and have so
entirely the confidence of the community, that their work is eagerly
sought after, and they are constantly full of orders. They employ about
seventy-five hands, and have machines, which plane about twenty-three
thousand feet of lumber per day. They also manufacture large quantities of
Packing Boxes, which they furnish to the stores at small prices. This
department of their business is of itself of considerable extent. Lumber
in the rough is also sold in large quantities.


  BEN. F. CAWTHON,
  MANUFACTURER OF
  FURNITURE
  AT
  WHOLESALE,
  Corner of Ninth, and Jefferson.

This establishment is among the largest factories of its class in the
western country. Although but a short time has elapsed since the
manufacture of furniture by machinery was adopted in this part of the
country, this factory has come to supply the wants of a great part of the
West. In factories of this sort the manufacture of the most elegant
classes of furniture is not attempted; attention being directed only to
the staples of the trade, in the production of which machinery can be used
to advantage. This machinery beautiful in its adaptation, and perfect in
its application, is well worthy of notice. There are comparatively few of
the operations of this establishment to which the machinery does not
apply. All the separate parts of each piece of furniture are got out by
machinery and cleaned up, veneered, and put together by hand workmen. Mr.
C. thoroughly comprehends the business which he pursues, and has entirely
the confidence of those with whom he has commercial relations. Large
quantities of lumber are kept upon the premises, so that all the wood used
in manufacture, is thoroughly seasoned; the workmen employed in the
factory are mechanics of the best order, and the establishment has a high
reputation for honesty and fair dealing, not only in the quality of work
but in the equality of prices. Mr. C. has a regular printed price current
by which he is governed, and according to which all dealers are equally
served. His trade extends over a great part of the West and South,
embracing the States of Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama,
Mississippi; Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri. As will readily be seen, a
manufactory of this kind, so useful in its interests, and so large in its
extent, is of great importance to the city; bringing, as it does, large
amounts of money from other and distant points, and disbursing them at
home; as well as offering inducements to the immigration hither, (which
are and have been eagerly embraced,) of a valuable class of citizens.


  JOHN M. STOKES,
  MANUFACTURER OF ALL KINDS OF
  CABINET
  FURNITURE,
  533 Main Street, between 2nd & 3rd.

The manufacture of furniture in large quantities and with the aid of
machinery has but lately been introduced into the western country, and
however it may have reduced the prices or extended the sale of the
articles so manufactured, it has by no means destroyed or even interfered
with the sale of articles manufactured by hand. Of the finer class of
furniture, of all those articles which are used merely as luxuries, as
well as of such as are required to stand the test of severe use, those
manufactured by hand are yet preferred; and the growing desire in the West
for the best articles of furniture has rendered the class of manufactures
under consideration of great value and importance. Louisville contains a
very large number of establishments for the manufacture of fine as well as
of durable and substantial common furniture. The largest of these and the
one best calculated to display this branch of business is the well-known
establishment of John M. Stokes, now in the 22d year of its existence.
There is scarcely a finely furnished parlor in Louisville or its vicinity,
scarcely an elegant steamer in the southern trade, that does not show the
capacity of this firm to rival any similar establishment in the country.
And while in some other branches of manufacture, Louisville may be
exceeded by other western cities, it is only fair to say, that a visit to
the immense establishment of Mr. Stokes will readily convince any one that
in this department of trade, Louisville cannot be exceeded either in
quality of work or in its price. Mr. S. has now in process of erection a
large four story building, where he purposes to add very considerably to
his already large manufacture.


  ISAAC CROMIE,
  MANUFACTURER OF
  PRINTING PAPER,
  NEWS, BOOK,
  AND COLORED,
  Mill, Main Street between Tenth and Eleventh,
  Store, No. 477 Main St.

This is the largest Paper Mill in the Western country, and fully equal in
point of capacity and advantages with any in the Union. It was established
in 1846, and passed into the hands of its present proprietor in 1848. The
mill is furnished with every desirable improvement in the machinery used
for paper making; the building is very commodious and well arranged, and
is under the immediate supervision of Mr. Kellogg, a gentleman in every
way qualified for his office. It is in constant operation, night and day,
being lighted up by gas, which is also manufactured on the premises. This
mill has advantages over most western mills in the fact that an abundant
supply of rags is furnished in this market, that it is situated in a fine
hemp growing region, where this article can readily be procured, bleached
and reduced to the finest texture for strengthening paper; that this is an
admirable location for making shipments of the manufactured article, and
that the most excellent water is brought from wells on the premises in any
quantity which may be desired. A very large amount of capital is invested
in this establishment, and no expense has been spared in effecting every
improvement known to the paper maker, and the results of this outlay of
capital, and of the sagacity and enterprise of its proprietor are now
evident. Not only does this paper find a ready market, but orders have so
multiplied upon the factory that, even with the immense product, they have
been unable until lately to complete their contracts for delivery. The
stack for the furnace of this mill is 140 feet high, and can be seen from
all the avenues of approach to the city.


  HAYES, CRAIG & CO.
  WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALERS
  IN
  HATS, CAPS,
  STRAW GOODS, FURS, &C.
  485 Main Street.

But a few years have elapsed since all the hats sold in this market were
the produce of eastern factories; and this department was not considered
of sufficient value to be detached from other branches of trade. In latter
years however, it has reached a position which makes it equal in
importance to most other branches. Western merchants are fully aware of
the value of Louisville as a market for hats, and even where many other
articles are purchased elsewhere, this market is always selected and
preferred by the buyer for his bill of hats.

Few firms have as rapidly grown into the favor and confidence of the
community as the one referred to above. They possess an enviable
reputation throughout the South and West, both as elegant manufacturers,
and as prompt and efficient men of business. Neither Beebe of New York,
nor Rousto of Paris, are better known or more prized as hatters by the
residents in the valley of the Mississippi. This is proven in the fact
that their sales at wholesale reach the amount of one hundred thousand
dollars, while their retail trade adds to this the sum of fifty thousand
dollars more. Their manufacture is chiefly confined to the finest quality
of hats. They employ from twenty-five to thirty hands.

This house also deals largely in furs, their purchases in this article
amount to about thirty-five thousand dollars annually. Their market for
these furs is found in London and Leipsie.


  POLLARD, PRATHER & SMITH,
  LATELY P. S. BARBER & CO.
  MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS IN
  HATS, CAPS, FURS,
  AND
  STRAW GOODS,
  No. 455 MAIN STREET.

This establishment, the oldest in the city, also commands a very prominent
position in the western country. What has before been said with reference
to the hat business, applies equally well to this establishment. The
energy and promptness of this firm as manufacturers, the extended
character of their business relations, and the high position which they
occupy at home as well as abroad, have not only insured their own
prosperity beyond any usual contingency but have added to the fame, the
business and the resources of the city.

Some idea may be formed of the increase in this department of business,
when it is asserted that the sales of this house alone now reaches an
amount greatly beyond what five years ago were the entire sales of the
city. Hats made in Louisville always find the preference with western and
southern purchasers over those made elsewhere. Not only are the qualities
greatly superior, but the styles are far preferable; and for a similar
class of goods, the prices are equally as low as those of any other
market. In these remarks, reference is of course had to the best quality
of hats. There is no department of trade which has increased, and still
promises to increase more rapidly than this.

The purchase and export of furs and peltries is also extensively carried
on by this house.

The two examples of this business given in this volume will bear favorable
comparison with any other hat houses in the West; if indeed they do not
surpass all their compeers.


  NEEDHAM'S
  MARBLE SHOP
  AND
  WARE ROOMS,
  Jefferson St. between 3rd & 4th, North Side.

This establishment has been in permanent and successful operation for the
last seventeen years, and is, we believe, the oldest one of the kind in
the city. The greater portion of the marble used; is imported directly
from Italy in the block, via New Orleans. The foreign and domestic marble
business has been a rapidly increasing one from the period of its first
introduction, and our workmen have readily availed themselves of all the
improved manufacturing processes. They are therefore prepared to furnish
all articles in their line at as low a price, as the same articles can be
furnished at any point in the West. Fine articles of manufactured marble
are now _cheaper in the city of Louisville than in the city of London_.

At Needham's Marble Warerooms may be found a well arranged stock of marble
Mantles, varying in price from twenty-five to one hundred and fifty
dollars. They are made of Italian, Egyptian, Irish, and the Sienna
marbles. He also makes to order the various descriptions of furniture
marble work.

In the department of monuments, tombs, tablets, and general cemetery work,
his stock and designs are said to be the largest in the West. All work
sent from the city is carefully packed, and warranted free from breakage.
The aim and object of the proprietor is to establish a permanent business
by doing good work at moderate prices.


  HUGH WILKINS,
  MANUFACTURER OF
  MATTRASSES, CARPETS,
  CURTAINS, FLAGS
  And all articles appertaining to the business of the
  UPHOLSTERER,
  Wall Street, four doors below Main.

In Louisville, the business of upholsterer is one of great importance. The
large number of steamboats which are built and furnished at this point
gives a great deal of work in this department of manufacture. The
reputation of this city as an admirable place for procuring articles of
this description has attracted much trade from other points. The factory
of Mr. Wilkins, now in the twelfth year of its existence, is one of the
best and most favorably known in Louisville and in the West. It is perhaps
more in this than in any other department of manufacture that the
purchaser is compelled to depend on the honesty as well as the taste and
judgment of the workman. The reputation of this factory is a sure
guarantee for the first of these qualities, and the many specimens of work
to be seen all over the city and in most of our steamboats, will readily
establish the other. A very large trade has been built up for this concern
by the fidelity and carefulness of its proprietor. The whole interior
fitting of steamboats and houses is undertaken here. Beds, carpets and
curtains of all descriptions and qualities are made and fitted up in a
style of superior excellence. The spring-mattrasses made at this factory
have a wide spread and deservedly great reputation. Some of those
mattrasses have not only been used during the life of one boat, but have
been removed from one steamer to its successor several times. The use of
spring mattrasses on steamers is probably the severest test to which they
can be subjected.


  METCALFE'S BREWERY.

  METCALFE & GRAINGER,
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  ALE, BEER, PORTER,
  AND
  BROWN STOUT.
  Market Street, between Sixth and Seventh.

This brewery, organized in 1832, is the oldest in the city, and is equal
in point of size and capacity to any in the West. The long practice in
this manufacture which the senior partner of this firm has had, and the
well-known reputation of the establishment are sufficient proofs of the
quality of articles manufactured here. Situated in the centre of a
splendid grain market, with water equal to any in the world, and with
thoroughly practiced and competent workmen, the Louisville Ales, Beer,
Brown-Stout, &c., cannot be anywhere surpassed. The Brown-Stout from
Metcalfe's Brewery is fully equal in every respect to the London article;
and the experiment of placing it, in Byass' bottles, before the best
connoisseurs has been frequently attempted, and always with success. It
has, however, a reputation of its own and does not therefore need a
foreign stamp to make it currently received. Beside furnishing the
interior of most of the western States, Messrs. M. & G. find a very
extended and ready market for articles of their manufacture in the larger
cities. Memphis and St. Louis receive and sell large quantities of these
articles, and scarcely a boat leaves for the Tennessee or Cumberland
rivers without having among her freight more or less of the products of
this brewery. Cards announcing the presence of these articles for sale are
every where shown out as inducements to the lovers of these delightful
beverages. In Louisville the brewings of Messrs. M. & G. are highly valued
by all.


  CLARK BRADLEY,
  MANUFACTURER OF
  COACHES, CARRIAGES,
  BUGGIES, &C.
  Main Street, between Brook and First.

The manufacture of carriages is not carried on as extensively by any
single firm in the West as in the East. The business is however one
embracing a large amount of capital, but the number of manufactories
prevents any single house from doing a very large amount of work. Carriage
building in Louisville has, however, recently partaken of the impulse
which has been given to every department of manufactures. There are fully
three times as many carriages built in Louisville now, as there were three
years ago. The smaller establishments in the interior places have been
obliged to resign to the superior quality and price of Louisville work.
There is no city in the Union where there are so many private vehicles
used, in proportion to the population, as in Louisville. This fact has led
to the endeavor on the part of carriage makers here to compete with
foreign workmen. And with the single exception of heavy carriages,
Louisville builders are at any time ready to furnish carriages at the same
price as they can be had in the East.

Mr. Bradley's establishment will afford a very fair example of this
business. It is one of the oldest in the city, and has a fine reputation.
The quality of work manufactured here cannot be surpassed, and Mr. B.'s
thorough knowledge, long experience, and personal attention to his
business, have done credit to him, and tended to advance the interests of
this business in the city. His sales extend to Kentucky, Tennessee, North
Alabama, Arkansas, and even to Mississippi and Louisiana. Fully one third
of the sales of this factory are made out of the State. Mr. Bradley
employs about twenty hands, who receive about ten thousand dollars
annually. His sales amount to about thirty thousand dollars. The value of
this as a market for this species of manufacture, is fast beginning to be
felt: and it cannot be doubted that it will become ere long the very best
market of the country.


  BAKER & RUBEL,
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  CARRIAGES, ROCKAWAYS,
  BUGGIES, &C.
  No. 650 Main Street.

This manufactory, though not so old as many of our carriage shops, is
still one deserving especial notice. The proprietors are themselves
constantly employed in the details of their work, and the result of their
knowledge, attention and experience is plainly observable in the work
which proceeds from their establishment. They possess the entire
confidence of the community, and, for the short time they have been
employed in their business, have been in every way very successful
workmen. Although the greater part of their sales are made in and around
the city, they yet send their carriages over a large part of the southern
and south-western States. It is idle for western and southern buyers any
longer to indulge the foolish opinion, that better, more durable, or more
elegant carriages can be bought in the eastern markets, than can be had at
home. Such an opinion was held until recently in regard to fine furniture,
but that has disappeared under the earnest endeavor of Louisville
manufacturers, and it is time for western purchasers to learn to depend on
their own workmen for supplies of every sort. Messrs. B. & R. have now in
their establishment carriages of all sorts which will favorably compare in
point of elegance with those made in any part of the Union, and will far
exceed any others in point of durability. This matter is one deserving the
attention of carriage buyers, and if they can only be persuaded to make a
trial of Louisville work, the fame of the city in this regard will be
easily established.


  DR. JOHN BULL,
  MANUFACTURER OF THE
  FLUID EXTRACT
  OF
  SARSAPARILLA.
  Office on 5th Street, below Main.

Dr. John Bull has used in the manufacture of his Sarsaparilla within the
last year 3,648 gross of bottles, 27,744 packing boxes at a cost of $6,885
50, and affords constant employment to about 55 hands. Amount of sales for
the year ending this date, $255,700 90. Dr. Bull commenced the manufacture
of this article exclusively about five years since, and the full amount of
sales at that time was about $5,500, which amount was entirely consumed in
advertising and printing of various kinds. The second year sales about
$38,600. Third year, $89,200 50. Fourth year, $157,030 70. Fifth year,
$255,700 90, as per above statement. The demand for his Sarsaparilla is
greater now than it has been at any time previously, and its reputation is
becoming more extended. He has received large orders from California, New
Mexico, and the island of Cuba. Wherever it has been tried, the sales of
it have increased, which is a sufficient guarrantee of its efficacy and
standing in all places where it has been introduced.


  THOMAS WILLIAMS & Co.
  GAS FITTERS,
  AND
  PLUMBERS,
  No. 462 MARKET STREET.

This establishment is the only one of the kind in the city, and since its
commencement a little more than a year ago, it has rapidly grown into
favor. Few persons are perhaps aware of the fact that all those minor
elegancies and luxuries which follow the establishment of water works in a
city can be procured and put in operation by this firm as readily and
completely, as in cities ever so abundantly supplied with water. Water
closets, bath houses, wash basins, pumps, boilers, and all the
appurtenances of an elegant mansion are here manufactured and furnished in
complete order. Most of the residences built since the existence of this
firm, have taken advantage of these furnishings, and many of the older
dwellings have added a part at least of these conveniences. These
gentlemen also import a great variety of gas fixtures of all descriptions,
as well as wrought iron welded tubes for steam, gas and water, which they
put up in a superior style. They also manufacture brass work of all the
lighter descriptions. The Beer-Pumps which are seen upon the counters of
our coffee houses, are also from this factory. These pumps are of a very
superior quality, and are exported from the city in large quantities.
Steamboat plumber's work also forms an important part of this business.
The well-known steamer Eclipse was furnished from this establishment. All
the work done by this firm is of the very best quality. These gentlemen
are thorough and accomplished workmen, and attend in person to the details
of their business. There are few plumbing establishments in this country
with which this will not bear favorable comparison.


  MILNE & BRUDER.
  LITHOGRAPHERS,
  No. 44 Third Street.

Lithographic printing is a very important branch of the Art, and one in
which excellence is rarely attained. It is applicable to a very great
variety of work, and hence is worthy of much consideration. Few persons
are probably aware of the utility of the art referred to. Maps,
landscapes, cards, bill heads, labels, drawings for the Patent Office,
anatomical plates, and in fine all the work of the ordinary printer as
well as of the draftsman and of the engraver, can be executed by the
lithographer. To do all these things well, an office requires to be
thoroughly organized, to possess artists of ability, and to be in the
hands of men of artistic taste as well as of business capacity. In all
these respects, the office of Messrs. Milne & Bruder is complete. In all
those classes of work which come within their province, these gentlemen
enjoy a high reputation. Prompt and efficient in their business relations,
tasteful and artistic in the execution of the work entrusted to them, they
are enabled to command a large amount of patronage, not only in
Louisville, but all over the West and South. The new map of Kentucky
lately issued from their press, is of itself a sufficient guarantee for
the character of the work executed at this establishment. This map is the
best ever published, and its authenticity is in no whit inferior to its
mere artistic excellence. It is steadily growing into public favor, and is
deservedly appreciated wherever it is known. There is no lithographic
establishment in the West, which can and does execute a greater variety or
a better quality of work than that under consideration.


  G. W. BRAINARD & CO.
  PUBLISHERS OF
  SHEET MUSIC.
  AND DEALERS IN EVERY DESCRIPTION OF
  MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS,
  AGENTS FOR
  JONAS CHICKERING'S
  PIANO-FORTES.
  No. 117 Fourth Street, Mozart Hall.

But little more than a year has elapsed since the publication of sheet
music was begun by this firm. Their catalogue however already embraces a
large number and a great variety of excellent music. The success of their
publishing house is by the practical talent and fine taste of the
proprietors, already placed beyond a contingency of failure, and only
needs the necessary lapse of time to become complete. As is well known,
Louisville numbers a great many accomplished musicians and musical
amateurs among her population. There is perhaps no other American city of
equal size where this art is so much cultivated and so high in favor with
the whole people. Music publishing, the necessary consequence of this
state of affairs, becomes therefore an important branch of business.
Messrs. B. & Co. are high in favor with our musical people, have published
a good deal of Louisville composition, and are rapidly finding a large
market abroad as well as at home for their production. These gentlemen are
also agents for Chickering's celebrated Pianos, as well as for other
favorite brands. Their attention is also particularly directed to
supplying Brass Instruments for bands. And they offer excellent security
for the quality of the articles which they keep. As a music store, their
establishment is a favorite resort with the amateurs of this delightful
art.


  PETERS, WEBB & CO.
  Publishers of Music,
  Main Street, bet. 2d and 3d, Opposite Bank of Ky.

  PETERS, CRAGG & CO.
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  PIANO FORTES,
  Main Street, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth.

  J. WEKERLE & CO.
  ORGAN MANUFACTURERS.

The publishing house of Peters, Webb & Co., perhaps the oldest
establishment of the kind, and certainly the most favorably known in the
West, employs one title engraver, three music engravers, and about six
printers. They keep three copper-plate presses constantly employed, and
issue from seven to ten thousand pages of music per week.

The piano-forte manufactory of Peters, Cragg & Co., was organized only a
few years ago, but its success has been so constant and rapid, that they
are not now able to supply the demand for their instruments. They have
embarked a very large capital in this business, and are now erecting a
large three story factory on Main Street, where they will be enabled to do
a still greater amount of work. They are prepared with all the most recent
useful improvements in manufacture and will employ in their new factory
about thirty hands. This firm is ready at any moment to duplicate any bill
of wholesale prices, which may be had from any respectable eastern house,
either in sheet music or pianos.

P. W. & Co., in company with J. Wekerle, a practical organ builder,
commenced the manufacture of these instruments in Louisville a little less
than three years ago, since which time they have built several instruments
for western churches, in Louisville and elsewhere. These have been
pronounced by competent judges equal to any made in the country. Five
workmen are constantly employed in this department.


  CHARLES DUFFIELD & CO.'S
  HAM CURING ESTABLISHMENT,
  Water Street, between 5th and 6th, Entrance on 6th.

This is the largest establishment exclusively devoted to the curing of
hams, not only in the United States, but in the world. The buildings are
of brick and are three stories in height. The curing-house is 66 feet wide
and 350 feet long, embracing over 52,000 square feet of floor. The smoking
house is 35 feet in width by 65 in length, and will hold 40,000 hams at
one smoking. One to two hundred thousand hams are cured here in one
season, and thirty to fifty men are employed nearly six months in the year
in preparing the hams for market and summer keeping. The details of the
curing process are not made public.

Mr. Duffield was the _first_ to establish and make permanent the business
of ham curing, as a separate and distinct branch of the provision trade,
which he did by _persevering_ in making fine hams for years without
profit--and he has thus became the PIONEER in giving character to our
western hams, which now stand unequalled in the markets of the United
States. It is to this perseverance that we are indebted for all the fine
hams, by whomsoever cured, that now fill our markets.

Mr. Duffield was the _first_ to cure in Cincinnati, in 1835, as many as
20,000 hams, and from this _beginning_, the business is believed to have
now reached the grand aggregate of from six to eight hundred thousand
hams, cured in an _extra_ style, in all the western cities. Mr. D.'s hams,
however, still stand pre-eminent. The demand for them increases yearly.
His brand is, "DUFFIELD'S AMERICAN WESTPHALIA HAMS." The reason for the
term "American Westphalia" is contained in the fact, that the only hams
celebrated in the United States markets, when Mr. D. commenced curing,
were those imported from Westphalia, in Germany, (which were then and
still are sold at 25 and 30 cents per pound,) hence the propriety and
boldness of the term "_American_ Westphalia." It is certain that Mr.
Duffield's cure will not be found _inferior_ to the best _imported_ from
Westphalia, and will not cost the consumer one-half the price of that
article.

The following list of diplomas, medals, &c., which have been awarded at
different times to the hams cured by Mr. Duffield, will corroborate this
opinion. By Ohio Mechanics' Institute, in 1844; by Hamilton County
Agricultural Society, in 1846; by Ohio State Fair, held in Cincinnati, in
1850; by The London Industrial Exhibition, and World's Fair Prize Medal,
in 1850. We are proud of Mr. D.'s reputation, and glad to be able to say
that Louisville has _the largest ham curing establishment in the world_.


  A. McBRIDE,
  MANUFACTURER OF
  PLANES AND EDGE TOOLS,
  No. 69 Third Street.

The manufacture of Planes and Edge-Tools in Louisville is not and has not
been considered a very prominent branch of trade. It is well known that
the skillful manufacture of these articles has long been a difficulty hard
to overcome. Mr. McBride, who has been a practical workman with the plane,
has successfully combatted all the difficulties in the way of producing a
perfect article. Wherever the tools from this factory have been used, they
have achieved that most difficult of results, the entire approbation of
the mechanic. Mr. B.'s business is one of those the steady growth of which
indicates real merit and ultimate success. Every article produced is made
by the hands of skillful workmen, and under the immediate eye of the
proprietor; hence all may be sure of procuring a far more valuable article
than can be had from the steam factories. Mr. McBride has in addition to
his manufactory, a fine stock of Hardware and Cutlery.


  HENRY HUNTER,
  GLASS CUTTING ESTABLISHMENT,
  No. 69 Third Street.

This useful establishment is one of those minor factories which are
indispensible to a great city. Necessary of small extent as compared with
many other branches of manufacture, it is yet an important and useful
concern. Mr. Hunter is the foreman of his own factory, and is a thorough
and accomplished workman. It is at his shop that those elegant cuttings on
tinted and white glass, which adorn the windows of our southern
steamboats, and add so much to their magnificence, are done. In this
department of his business he is without a rival in the city and, it is
believed, in the West. Beside this, Mr. H. is a fitter of glasses for
jeweller's work, such as rings, breast-pins, miniatures, &c. He also
replaces parts of broken sets of glass and performs, in a superior manner,
all the work done at the glass cutters. A good stock of cut glass-ware is
also to be found at this factory.


  KENTUCKY LOCK FACTORY.

  HARIG & STOY,
  MANUFACTURERS OF
  SAFE, BANK, VAULT, JAIL AND DOOR LOCKS.
  No. 97 Third Street.

The Kentucky Lock Factory is another establishment deserving especial
notice. The work made at this factory is surpassed in quality by none in
the West. Locks of every description from those of the prison, the Bank
and the safe, to the smallest mortise latch, are manufactured with equal
care and fidelity. The Fire-Proof Safe, which has a well established
reputation everywhere, is also made here. Iron doors and frames for bank
vaults and prisons us well as sliding door locks and trimmings also form a
part of the daily work of the factory. This concern, under the charge of
Mr. Aug. C. Harig has for a long time enjoyed the confidence and patronage
of this community, and it will doubtless, under its present management,
continue to increase in public favor. In addition to articles of their own
manufacture, Messrs. H. & S. offer for sale an excellent assortment of
Builders Hardware.


  A. TIENSCH,
  Manufacturer of Mathematical and Philosophical Instruments,
  NO. 97 THIRD STREET.

In the same building with the factory noticed above, may be found the
instrument shop of Mr. Tiensch. In this exceedingly complex and scientific
manufacture, this gentleman is very eminent. The most delicate
manipulations of his art are performed by him with singular accuracy and
facility. Manufactories of this kind are rare in the American cities, nor
is the demand for these articles very great. Mr. T. is therefore able to
furnish the proceeds of his manufacture to buyers who are scattered ever a
large surface of country. He keeps on hand a stock of the instruments in
most common use and is thoroughly competent to the successful manufacture
of any article in his line which may be desired by the scientific man. His
factory will doubtless grow with the growing wants for articles of this
description in this great city. The curious in such matters will find his
shop well worthy of a visit.


  HULL & BROTHER,
  Book & Job Printers, Binders,
  AND PUBLISHERS,
  83 & 85 Fourth Street, between Main and Market.

This firm commenced business in this city in the year 1844. It has
gradually grown, from a small beginning, until it stands second to no
establishment in the West, either for facilities or workmanship. Although
its principal business is that of Book, and the finer kinds of Job
Printing, yet at this office are issued two weekly papers, and three
monthly periodicals--making an average of over _ten thousand periodicals
weekly_.

The Proprietors being both practical men, (having been all their lives
engaged in the business, and understanding thoroughly every department of
it,) they have been enabled to carry the Art of Printing to a perfection
that would surprise and astonish the spirits of Faust and Guttemberg, were
they to arise from their graves, as much as it pleases and attracts the
lovers of the beautiful of the present day.

In connection with this establishment there is a well assorted Bindery,
under the direction of Mr. J. A. IRWIN, who, in this department, is
connected with the Messrs. Hull. He also is a practical workman, well
acquainted with every part of his business.

Every branch and variety of the business is here carried on. From the
mill, the paper passes to the wetting trough, thence to the printing
press; from the press to the drying boards, then into the hands of the
Folder, and so successively, to the Forwarder, the Embosser, and the
Finisher, until the perfect book is produced.

The Messrs H. employ about forty hands in their Establishment and are
supplied, both in their Printing and Binding departments, with the very
best materials and machinery that have been invented.

Altogether it is an Establishment that does credit to our city, and gives
additional evidence of its increasing prosperity.




FOOTNOTES:

[1] Campbell had been taken prisoner by the British and Indians and was
then in captivity in Canada.

[2] MARSHALL, Vol. I, p. 104.

[3] Directory for 1832.

[4] Western Review for January, 1830.

[5] This incident is by some accredited to William Creasy, a bargeman of
the James River.

[6] Morgan Neville, in Western Souvenir for 1829.

[7] PERKINS' Annals, pp. 280 to 282.

[8] John A. McClung in Collins' Kentucky, p. 57.

[9] This statement is given on the authority of Major Quirey's own son.

[10] This prediction, as is well known, has been verified.

[11] This gentleman was one among the most distinguished of the early
citizens of Louisville. His untiring energy, his inflexible honesty of
purpose, and his fine mental ability, all contributed to render him
conspicuous in every position to which he was called. An excellent epitome
of his character is contained in a remark made by him upon the occasion of
his resignation of the Presidency of the Bank referred to. The directory
of the Bank having determined to stop payment, Mr. Prather resigned his
seat with these memorable words:--"I can preside over no institution which
fails to meet its engagements promptly and to the letter." Mr. Prather was
long connected in business with Mr. John I. Jacob, whose recent death has
been so much deplored; and the firm of Prather & Jacob is one of the best
and most favorably known among the early merchants of this city.

[12] This census does not include the residents in Preston's or Campbell's
enlargements, nor does it refer either to Portland or Shippingport.

[13] This is extracted from Mr. Maum Butler's account of the Canal.

[14] Gallagher's Review of Amelia in the Hesperian for 1839.

[15] This hope is now destined never to be gratified, for, since the above
was written, this accomplished poetess and estimable woman has been called
away to join her voice with the angelic choir, whose harmonies are the
delight and the glory of the celestial world. On a bright May morning,
such as her own songs have taught us to love, when the earth was redolent
of beauty, and the flowers were sending up to heaven the incense of their
perfumes, when all rejoicing nature was pouring out its mourning orison to
its Creator, the angels sent by her Heavenly Father, came and bore her
spirit to its home in the skies. And so

  "She has passed like a bird from the minstrel throng,
  She has gone to the land where the lovely belong."

[16] Haldeman's Directory for 1844-5.

[17] These gentlemen having recently resigned, the chairs so vacated are
now occupied by Drs. Palmer and Austin Flint, of Buffalo, N. Y.

[18] "In this year, a line of 46 hhds brought $3,390 84, averaging $73 73
per hhd. The crop was short, and speculation ran high. Dealers in the
article were heavy losers."--_Directory for 1845._

[19] Most of the machinists are connected with the foundries.

[20] This does not include all steamboat builders.

[21] Most of the turners are connected with various factories.

[22] From "Louisville and the Elements of her Prosperity," by H. Smith,
Esq., in the Louisville Journal.

[23] Speculation in city lots ran very high at this time, and property
bore an enormous fictitious value. As will be remembered, this feeling was
not confined to Louisville, but was prevalent all over the western
country. This was the era of speculations in western town lots, an era
which will not be recalled with pleasure by most western men.






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