Research and Professional Practice in

Specialised Translation Federica

Scarpa
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/research-and-professional-practice-in-specialised-tra
nslation-federica-scarpa/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Methodologies For Practice Research: Approaches For

Professional Doctorates Carol Costley

https://textbookfull.com/product/methodologies-for-practice-
research-approaches-for-professional-doctorates-carol-costley/

Persuasion in Specialised Discourses Olga Dontcheva-

Navratilova

https://textbookfull.com/product/persuasion-in-specialised-
discourses-olga-dontcheva-navratilova/

Playing the PhD Game with Integrity: Connecting

Research, Professional Practice and Educational Context
John A Bowden

https://textbookfull.com/product/playing-the-phd-game-with-
integrity-connecting-research-professional-practice-and-
educational-context-john-a-bowden/

Technology, Research and Professional Learning Jingjing

Zhang

https://textbookfull.com/product/technology-research-and-
professional-learning-jingjing-zhang/
Copyright And Information Privacy: Conflicting Rights
In Balance Federica Giovanella

https://textbookfull.com/product/copyright-and-information-
privacy-conflicting-rights-in-balance-federica-giovanella/

Co operative Banking Networks in Europe Models and

Performance Federica Poli

https://textbookfull.com/product/co-operative-banking-networks-
in-europe-models-and-performance-federica-poli/

Joint Ownership in EU Tunisia Relations Power and

Negotiation Federica Zardo

https://textbookfull.com/product/joint-ownership-in-eu-tunisia-
relations-power-and-negotiation-federica-zardo/

Participatory Research and Planning in Practice Janez

Nared

https://textbookfull.com/product/participatory-research-and-
planning-in-practice-janez-nared/

Advances in Crowdfunding: Research and Practice Rotem

Shneor

https://textbookfull.com/product/advances-in-crowdfunding-
research-and-practice-rotem-shneor/
PALGRAVE STUDIES IN TRANSLATING AND INTERPRETING
SERIES EDITOR: MARGARET ROGERS

Research and
Professional
Practice in
Specialised
Translation

Federica Scarpa
Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting

Series Editor
Margaret Rogers
School of Literature and Languages
University of Surrey
Guildford, UK
This series examines the crucial role which translation and interpreting in
their myriad forms play at all levels of communication in today's world,
from the local to the global. Whilst this role is being increasingly recog-
nised in some quarters (for example, through European Union legisla-
tion), in others it remains controversial for economic, political and social
reasons. The rapidly changing landscape of translation and interpreting
practice is accompanied by equally challenging developments in their
academic study, often in an interdisciplinary framework and increasingly
reflecting commonalities between what were once considered to be sepa-
rate disciplines. The books in this series address specific issues in both
translation and interpreting with the aim not only of charting but also of
shaping the discipline with respect to contemporary practice and research.

More information about this series at

http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14574
 Federica Scarpa

Research and
Professional Practice
in Specialised
Translation
Federica Scarpa
University of Trieste
Trieste, Italy

Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting

ISBN 978-1-137-51966-5    ISBN 978-1-137-51967-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51967-2

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2020

The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and
­transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar
or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Cover illustration: Melanie Hobson / EyeEm

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Limited
The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom
In memory of my brother Angelo (1958–2017)
 Preface

This book is aimed primarily at translation trainees and trainers at an aca-

demic postgraduate level, but also professional translators wishing to give
a more theoretical grounding to their everyday activity. It has been grow-
ing steadily from my experience of teaching specialised translation from
English to Italian for nearly thirty years at the University of Trieste and,
more specifically, develops from my textbook in specialised translation
which was published in Italian in 2001 (and, in its second edition, in
2008) and also in French in 2010 (thanks to Marco Fiola, who translated
it), and which in this English version has been updated and reorganised.
Although aiming to be a pedagogical resource, what this book is not is
a practical coursebook or handbook providing the conceptual and termi-
nological basic knowledge required by translators in a limited number of
specialised domains and translation tasks and/or dictionaries at the end
of each didactic section. Instead, whilst it does provide examples of spe-
cialised texts and their translations—especially for the English-Italian
pair—this volume aims to be a textbook for an academic course in spe-
cialised translation having, however, also a very practical orientation.
Thus, its strong theoretical component has the primary aim to help evalu-
ate and inform practice in real-life translation situations, because the
three fundamental assumptions throughout the book are that: (1) reflect-
ing on what translators do makes them better translators; (2) the only
way to enhance the status of the translator in society is through a
vii
viii Preface

collaboration between the theoretical and practical worlds of translation;

and (3) appropriately trained specialised translators can indeed translate
scientific and technical texts even if they do not have the same conceptual
knowledge of the source-text specialised domain as specialists of
that domain.
Whilst being firmly embedded in the language-oriented theoretical
strand, the approach to specialised translation adopted in this volume
sees translation as a linguistic reformulation and a social/cultural media-
tion that is oriented towards one or more communicative aims and has
the main objective of making it possible for members of different lan-
guages/cultures (who would otherwise have no chance to do so) to com-
municate with each other. This linguistic and functional perspective of
translation broadly falls within ‘action research’ in Translation Studies,
based on the belief that, in order to improve our knowledge about trans-
lation and phenomena related to it, research in translation should focus
on actual translation practice as a basis for developing theoretical con-
cepts (cf. Lauscher 2000: 161). Thus, throughout the book I have drawn
on different theories and approaches to describe and explain what special-
ised translators do, with the immediate aim of using these findings to
improve the efficiency of the translation process and the quality of the
translation product.
Given the book’s primarily pedagogical aim and that specialised trans-
lation deals predominantly with text genres requiring standardised trans-
lation approaches, in places the book has also a prescriptive ambition.
Indeed, like Lauscher (2000: 162), I believe that “in quality control (…)
or translator training, prescriptive judgements are necessary”. This view is
also very similar to that expressed by James Holmes (1988 [1972]: 109),
the founding ‘father’ of Translation Studies, who stated that the major
task of teachers of translation is “to impart norms to the students”. Seen
from the perspective of the descriptive/prescriptive divide that character-
ises the divergence between academics and professionals on what to
expect from translation theory, my target-oriented approach is both
‘declarative’, i.e. studying “how things are”, but also ‘imperative’, apply-
ing theoretical insights to describe “how things ought to be: what consti-
tutes good or effective translation and what can help to achieve a better
or more effective product” (Halliday 2001: 13–14). Hence, it is indeed
 Preface ix

descriptive, drawn from the problems of a variety of professional transla-

tion scenarios and adapted for training purposes, but then crucially also
feeds the results of description into prescriptive statements for transla-
tional behaviour that are aimed at achieving possible optimal versions.
However, as I have argued elsewhere (Scarpa et al. 2009), this is not the
kind of prescriptive attitude of translator-training institutions that has
been criticised by Toury (1995: 261, 1999: 23), with trainers likely to
give a distorted presentation of what translation is and how it is practised.
Instead, I believe it is an attitude that could be equated with an ‘informed
prescription’, aiming, wherever possible, at being founded on probabili-
ties, or what Toury (1999: 21) calls ‘regularities’, and where prescriptive
statements should be treated as hypotheses to be tested (Chesterman
1999). It is, in my view, what realistic and, especially, honest translator
training should be about.
Throughout the book, translation is seen as a professional service activ-
ity (Gile 2009: 44), where the word ‘service’ goes somewhat against cur-
rent trends aiming to increase the ‘visibility’ and ‘agency’ of translators
and interpreters. In fact, as I will argue in the book when dealing with the
ethical issue of the specialised translator’s responsibility (Chap. 2), I
believe that in professional specialised translation it is the translator’s
‘invisibility’ in the translated text, to create the illusion of a translation
that reads like an original, which in fact should be considered as a positive
ethical tactic and a manifestation of agency. As elegantly put by Maia
(2010: 442), and as we know too well from our daily experience as users
of translated non-literary texts, “the ‘visibility’ of translators whose termi-
nology is incorrect (and even invented), and whose appreciation of the
textual conventions of certain subjects leaves much to be desired” is all
too frequent in today’s translation market. This textual invisibility should
be distinguished from the increased visibility for the translation profes-
sion, which is still to be achieved and certainly a battle worth fighting for.
Linked to the issue of agency is that of translation technology, which
is taken for granted in the book, because in today’s translation market
virtually all translations are produced with the help of computers and
technology. Although the activity of specialised translators continues to a
certain extent to be seen as a mechanical and non-creative linguistic pro-
cess that could be very well done by machines, also in this branch of
x Preface

translation, technology will never substitute human interpretation, lan-

guage sensitivity and decision making (Montgomery 2010: 302, 304).
Indeed, a related aim of the book is to paint a positive picture of the
specialised translator’s profession (cf. Chris Durban’s view in her 2010
book The Prosperous Translator) and to give academic dignity to this non-­
literary branch of the formal academic discipline of Translation Studies,
which is still today somewhat left off the research radar, owing to the
traditional bias towards the humanities that has characterised Translation
Studies right from its inception in the mid-1970s.
I am grateful to my colleagues and students in the Department of
Legal, Language, Interpreting and Translation Studies (IUSLIT) at the
University of Trieste, the language section of which was formerly known
as the University of Trieste’s School for Translators and Interpreters’
(SSLMIT), for providing throughout the years a perfect environment for
exchanging ideas and experiences on how to do research in translation
and train translators in such a way as to reflect the everyday setting of
most translators’ work. Among the colleagues of IUSLIT and those of the
former SSLMIT who have since migrated to other universities, I am par-
ticularly grateful to Lorenza Rega, Nadine Celotti, David Katan, Marella
Magris, Maria Teresa Musacchio and Giuseppe Palumbo for the informa-
tive and interesting discussions we have engaged in over many years,
which have been a major source of inspiration for many of the ideas and
opinions expressed in the book. Special thanks also go to Margaret
Rogers, for encouraging me to write a book on specialised translation for
this series and also for her excellent work editing it.
Finally, I owe a special debt of gratitude to my husband, Russell King,
for finding the time to read and edit the final version of this book with
the critical eye coming from his huge experience in academic writing and
editing in English as part and parcel of his long and distinguished aca-
demic career in migration studies. My thanks go to him and to my friends
and colleagues also for their extensive support during the long years that
it took me to write the book, owing to unexpected and unwelcome events
both family- and health-related.

Trieste, Italy Federica Scarpa

 Contents

1 Introducing Specialised Translation  1

2 Theoretical Issues in Specialised Translation111

3 Translating Specialised Texts187

4 Quality in Specialised Translation291

References367

Index409

xi
 1
Introducing Specialised Translation

Translation is an ancient craft but a relatively young discipline. Since the

1960s, when some linguists began to give a theoretical basis to the activ-
ity of translating, the institutionalisation of translation as an academic
discipline was carried out under the auspices of linguistics, a discipline
that, as Neubert (1998: 15) recalls, was itself hailed as “a science pilote”.
Until the 1980s translation was therefore considered as a branch of
applied linguistics, whose absolute and indisputed paradigm was that of
contrastive linguistics, i.e. the study of cross-language correspondences
between language pairs. In keeping with this, early linguistic theories of
translation were more focused on the formal traits of language than on
the features that characterise them today, which are the relations between
language patterns, the translators using them and the social/cultural con-
text in which they were used (cf. Baker 2000: 31–32). Crucially, however,
by the early 1970s translation was also taking its first steps as an autono-
mous discipline. The traditional starting point for this process is set in the
paper “The Name and Nature of Translation Studies”, delivered in
Amsterdam in 1972 at the Third International Conference of Applied
Linguistics by James Holmes, who coined the name ‘Translation Studies’

© The Author(s) 2020 1

F. Scarpa, Research and Professional Practice in Specialised Translation, Palgrave Studies
in Translating and Interpreting, https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51967-2_1
2 F. Scarpa

to highlight the interdisciplinary and humanistic nature of translation

(Holmes 1988 [1972]).
In the early 1980s, the concepts of ‘textual domains’ and ‘similar com-
municative situations’ of the source text and target text (from now
onwards, ST and TT respectively) were introduced in translation via the
text-linguistic paradigm and within a more general ‘pragmatic turn’1 of
linguistics (Snell-Hornby 2006: 35–40). These two concepts proved to
be particularly useful in specialised translation because they provided the
basis for ‘comparable’ texts, called back then ‘parallel texts’, which are
texts similar in topic and text type that were produced independently of
each other by the source language and target language (from now
onwards, SL and TL respectively) and are a crucial source of information
for specialised translators. In the same decade, a new paradigm of transla-
tion also began to emerge, which moved beyond a purely linguistic
approach and was both process-oriented and interdisciplinary. Despite
being still viewed as a fundamentally linguistic activity, translation began
to be seen, on the one hand, as having its focus on the process of translat-
ing (hence the so-called ‘translation process research’ or TPR) rather than
on the translation product (i.e. the translated text) and, on the other,
encompassing components from other neighbouring disciplines as well as
the various specialised domains of the texts to be translated. In the wake
of this paradigm shift, Translation Studies also began to be viewed as a
discipline that itself influences the conceptual and methodological frame-
works of other research areas. The new focus on process has also inevita-
bly brought the academic discipline of Translation Studies closer to the
professional practice of translation and the practical methodology for
producing and revising translations. It has also reduced the predomi-
nance of linguistics, which continues nevertheless to be crucial in a disci-
pline that is still inevitably anchored in language.
This introductory chapter provides a first stab at defining the scope of
specialised translation, which will be discussed in more detail at the
beginning of Chap. 2. In the first part of the chapter (Sect. 1.1), my gen-
eral goal will be to define the object of specialised translation, i.e.
Languages for Special Purposes or LSPs, which are also called with the
collective term ‘specialised (or LSP) discourse’ to reflect more clearly the
specialist user and domain of use of language in contexts which are typical
 1 Introducing Specialised Translation 3

of a specialist community, either academic or professional or technical

(cf. Gotti 2011: 15). Indeed, it is because of these different contexts that,
besides the formal differences of LSPs resulting from the different special-
ised topics, there is also a pragmatic variation of LSPs’ features in response
to different situations of language use (Sect. 1.1.1). After an overview of
the general pragmatic criteria of use of LSPs (Sect. 1.2.1) and the general
formal features which are distinctive of LSPs vs. everyday language (Sect.
1.2.2), using a top-down approach I next analyse the linguistic features of
LSPs at the levels of text, syntax and terminology (Sect. 1.2.3–1.2.5). In
the succeeding two sections of the chapter, I will then discuss the domi-
nance of Anglo-American models in the communication of scientific and
technological knowledge, especially in academic discourse (1.3), and the
importance of specialised translation in today’s language industry (1.4).
In the final section of the chapter (1.5), I will define contrastively special-
ised translation vis-à-vis literary translation, despite sharing Rogers’
(2015: 2) view that these two translation macroareas are in fact not in
opposition but complementary one to the other.

1.1 Defining Special Languages

Special languages are language varieties found in documents with a pre-
dominant emphasis on the information they convey and directed to a
more or less restricted target specialist community, ranging from experts
to laypersons and having very specific professionally or subject-related
communicative needs and expectations. In a restricted sense, these lan-
guage varieties are characterised by (1) distinctive terminological features
and (2) a specialised use of textual, syntactical and lexical features which
have been drawn from ‘general’ everyday language, the so-called ‘Language
for General Purposes’ (LGP, from now onwards ‘general language’). These
features are in fact not exclusive of LSPs but only more frequent than in
general language, so that between LSPs and general language there is
more a continuum than a clear-cut delimitation (e.g. Varantola 1986).
The specific features of LSPs are used in pragmatically specific ways to
provide scientists and professionals with the most effective and functional
communication tool for specific topics and activities, and also serve as a
4 F. Scarpa

social tool to recognise and acknowledge their users’ shared belonging to

a specific group of specialists. Between the specialised knowledge of a
given discipline and its specialised discourse there is in fact a particularly
close relationship. The language of science represents a case in point. The
linguist who stands out above the rest for his cognitive view of the indi-
visibility of language from scientific content is Michael Halliday
(1993[1988]: 74): “it is the practice, the activity of ‘doing science’, that is
enacted in the forms of the language […]. It is this reality that is con-
strued in scientific discourse”. An even stronger version of the homology
between scientific knowledge and the language used to convey it is typi-
cally held by scientists, who stress the differences between, on the one
hand, the different ‘universes’ created by the contents, procedures and
argumentation practices of different disciplines and, on the other,
between the LSPs of each discipline, with each LSP “creating a new way
of perceiving the universe” (Bruschi 1999: 56, my translation and empha-
sis in the original).
The special languages that will be dealt with in this book as being the
object of specialised translation do not include LSPs in a broad sense, i.e.
language varieties which, despite being typical of specific topics and com-
municative contexts, are not characterised by homogeneous distinctive
features especially—though not exclusively—at the lexical/terminologi-
cal level. Examples of this broader type of LSPs are the language of texts
written for potential tourists (e.g. tourist guides and travelogues) and
also the language of politics, whose terminological features are not dis-
tinctive but are rather drawn from other LSPs, such as the languages of
law, economics, finance, administration etc., and indeed the LSP of any
specialised domain which happens to be the specific topic of the com-
munication activity. Neither do they include jargons, which despite being
characterised by distinctive lexical features, are language varieties based
more on specific groups of users than on specialised topics (e.g. youth
urban slang). Instead, the object of study of this book are the LSPs found
in ‘sci-tech’ texts, which are typically translated in the context of science
and technology.
Strictly speaking, whilst being complementary, science and technology
designate different, if related, knowledge domains. To put it in a nutshell,
“science produces ideas whereas technology results in the production of
 1 Introducing Specialised Translation 5

usable objects” (Wolpert 1992: 25). The goal of science is the study of
objective truths about the world using a systematic process called the
‘scientific method’, which is the foundation of modern scientific enquiry
and involves the following four basic steps: identification of a problem;
formulation of a hypothesis; practical or theoretical testing of the hypoth-
esis; rejection or adjustment of the hypothesis if it is falsified (Walliman
2011: 177). Technology, on the other hand, is the practical application of
science to create products that can solve problems and do tasks. From a
linguistic point of view, the language of science is concept-oriented whilst
in technology it is object-oriented (Newmark 1988: 155). Another differ-
ence concerns the explicitation of the criteria to be adhered to and the
terminology to be used, which has to be carried out in science but not in
technology (Dardano 1994: 501). However, despite these distinctions
and the associated need to differentiate between scientific translation and
technical translation (cf. Byrne 2012: 2–3; Rogers 2015: 21–22) and,
more generally, despite the great variety of special languages associated
with different disciplinary domains and communicative settings, in this
book I will concentrate on the communicative features shared by scien-
tific and technical texts, resulting in more similarities than differences
with regard to text-type conventions (Göpferich 1995: 307). The very
similar translation challenges and approaches existing between scientific
and technical texts (see Olohan 2016: 6–7) justify the one category ‘spe-
cialised translation’ that is the object of this book.

1.1.1 Axes of Variation of LSPs

If we accept that special languages are not a homogeneous entity but are
characterised by a great degree of internal variation, which is related to
the different situations in which they are produced and used, then LSPs
should be viewed in terms of specialised registers. These are varieties of
language that users consider appropriate to specific situations, govern the
selection of linguistic features at all the levels of a text (Halliday et al.
1965) and contribute to implementing different textual genres (House
1997: 107). By viewing LSPs as registers, the specificity of specialised
texts is more immediately recognisable based on the parameter of field,
6 F. Scarpa

i.e. the disciplinary domain of the text as reflected mainly in its terminol-
ogy (e.g. medical, legal, economic etc.) and providing the ‘horizontal’
dimension of variation of specialised discourse. In specialised registers it
is in fact mostly the content that takes care of meeting the very specific
professionally or subject-related communicative needs and expectations
of specialised discourse communities, and produces for the translator the
most immediate and intuitive way of classifying LSP texts. When dealing
with specialised content, a useful distinction between scientific disci-
plines is that between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sciences. ‘Hard’ (or ‘physical’) sci-
ences (physics, maths, biology, chemistry, engineering, medicine etc.) are
disciplines that explore the workings of the natural world, whilst ‘soft’ (or
‘human’ or ‘social’) sciences (law, economics, sociology, psychology,
anthropology etc.) are disciplines that deal with phenomena occurring
inside society. In line with this distinction, hard and soft sciences apply
the scientific method with different rigour and objectivity owing to the:

• Different nature of the phenomena being studied: unlike hard sci-

ences, the world studied by soft sciences is extremely complex, reflect-
ing the fact that human behaviour is only marginally predictable and
social phenomena (e.g. production techniques, organisation of labour,
migration flows) are not immutable but vary along the axis of time.
• Empirical verification and testing of an initial hypothesis: unlike hard
sciences, controlled experiments cannot be carried out in soft sciences,
where the lack of laboratory testing means that each statement is inevi-
tably tied to elements of an interpretative and subjective nature.
• Different degree of certainty of results, which is absolute in hard sci-
ences but not in soft sciences, where the results are better described as
being ‘tendencies’ with or without statistical significance.

On its own, however, the horizontal dimension of LSPs based on con-

tent/terminology is not a sufficient basis of classification of specialised
discourse. The first reason is that formal typologies based only on the
field of discourse implicitly confirm the identification of LSPs with their
terminologies, a false tenet that has traditionally not only dominated the
study of LSPs until the 1980s, but also—more relevantly—relegated spe-
cialised translation to little more than a transfer of ‘technical terms’.
18 F. Scarpa

functional to the main goal and aims of the specialised translator such as
the one in this book, listing these features provides a useful insight that
may guide translators in both making their decisions and assessing the
quality of a translation (cf. Sect. 4.2).
The pragmatic feature of referential ‘precision’ entails absence of ambi-
guity (Ortony 1993: 1) and, at the level of terminology, includes the
requirements of ‘monoreferentiality’ (the biunivocal relationship between
term and concept for any given context) and ‘transparency’ (of a term’s
meaning through its surface form). For example, in medical language,
hepatic encephalopathy is immediately recognisable as meaning ‘a neuro-
psychiatric (encephalo-) syndrome (-pathy) affecting patients with liver
(hepatic) disfunction’. At the higher linguistic levels, precision entails lack
of ambiguity of both syntactic constructs (each sentence or group of
words having only one possible meaning) and text organisation (logical
structuring of flow of information and thematic progression; textual
standardisation of different genres; logical and consistent use of cohesive
devices etc.). An example of precision at these levels is the basic rhetorical
principle of parallelism, whereby paragraphs on comparable phenomena
should have a parallel grammatical structure. The parallelism principle is
important for the readability and comprehensibility of a text because it
increases the predictability of what comes next in the text: hence, infring-
ing it5 makes the text more difficult to process.
The pragmatic requirement of ‘economy’ entails a communicative use
of language which is efficient, i.e. not redundant, and also achieving an
optimum balance between maximum differentiation among linguistic
items (maximum communicative effectiveness) and minimal processing
effort on the part of receivers (see Jiří Levý’s ‘minimax principle’, quoted
in Pym 2012: 136). Such an optimal use of linguistic structures can be
achieved by expressing concepts in the shortest possible form by condens-
ing and compacting information (conciseness) and avoiding structural
and textual redundancy (simplicity) (cf. Varantola 1986: 15). As noted by
Bennett (2011: 192–193), the need for conciseness entailing a reduction
in textual surface was a linguistic consequence of the major epistemologi-
cal shift of the 1600s and early 1700s from the old system of deductive
reasoning to inductive logic, the so-called ‘European Scientific
Revolution’. To build upon findings that had already been described and
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of A
summer journey in the west
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: A summer journey in the west

Author: Eliza R. Steele

Release date: September 25, 2023 [eBook #71725]

Language: English

Original publication: NYC: John. S. Taylor, and Co, 1841

Credits: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A SUMMER

JOURNEY IN THE WEST ***
 LETTER I., II., III., IV., V., VI., VII., VIII., IX., X., XI.
Numerous typographical errors have been corrected.—Etext
transcriber.

A SUMMER JOURNEY IN THE WEST.

A
SUMMER JOURNEY
BY

Mrs. STEELE.

NEW-YORK.

PUBLISHED BY JOHN S. TAYLOR,

145 Nassau Street.

SUMMER JOURNEY IN THE

WEST.
 BY MRS. STEELE,
AUTHOR OF HEROINES OF SACRED HISTORY.

“I write that which I have seen”—Le Baum.

NEW YORK:
JOHN S. TAYLOR, AND CO.
(Brick Church Chapel, 145 Nassau-St.)
1841.

Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by

JOHN S.
TAYLOR & CO.
in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the
Southern District of New York.
 P R E FA C E .
This little book assumes to be nothing more than a note book of all that
passed before the observation of the author, during a summer tour of four
thousand miles, through the great lakes; the prairies of Illinois; the rivers
Illinois, Mississippi, and Ohio; and over the Alleghany mountains to New
York. Since she has been ‘urged by friends to print,’ the author has added to
her notes and letters, some little information regarding the western States, in
hopes her book may be of use to future tourists and emigrants, who will
here find an account of the distances, prices, and conveyances, throughout
the author’s route. Anxious to guard against errors, information acquired
upon the road, has been compared with the best Gazeteers. Accuracy, in a
newly settled country, is difficult, and accounts differ much; still the author
trusts the traveller who may honor her by taking her book for his guide, will
not be far mis-led.
New York, May, 1841.

A SUMMER JOURNEY.
“I write that which I have seen”—Le Baum.
 LETTER I.
June 14th, 1840.
My dear E.—The variety of scenes which have passed before my eyes
since I last beheld you, and the crowd of new ideas acquired thereby, have
not obliterated your Shaksperian adieu from my mind:

“Think on thy Proteus, when thou haply see’st

Some rare note-worthy object in thy travels,”

were your last words—in consequence of this desire, I hereby send you all I
deem note-worthy. With what delight did I find myself once more upon the
Hudson! Although so often seen, to me it is still lovely, for custom cannot
stale its beauties. I pass along this river as through a gallery of cabinet
pictures. The sunny vista and romantic glen of Gainsborough—the
frowning cliff and murderous dell of Rosa—the Dutch cottage of Teniers—
the Italian villa and graceful trees of classic Weir—cattle, as if just sprung
from out a Berghman and grouped upon the shore, or standing ‘in the cool
translucent wave,’ their ‘loose train of amber-dropping hair,’ not being
‘braided with lilies,’ but occupied in flapping the flies away!—all these, and
many more are placed side by side before me as I float along.
You have never seen this famed stream, and I will therefore describe it to
you minutely. Mine will not be ‘notes by the way,’ nor ‘crayoning,’ nor
‘pencil sketches,’ but perfect Daguerrotype likenesses of all I see.
With a bold rush our steamboat was free of the wharf and out into the
stream. Ascend now to the upper deck with me and you will obtain a fine
view of the city of New York and its noble bay. Upon one side lies the city
with its mass of houses, churches, and vessels; beyond is Long Island.
Observe what a pretty back ground is Staten Island: its numerous white
buildings show well against the green elevated ridge behind them; then turn
your eye to the opposite side and you will behold New Jersey, with its
pretty city, and villages, and churches; and in the center of all this is the
glassy water covered with steamboats, brigs, ships of war, and vessels of all
sizes, and dotted with pretty fortress islets. Hoboken with its neat church
and romantic colonade are passed, and the rugged cliffs of Weehawken rise
upon our left as we ascend the river. These cliffs are the commencement of
the Palisade rocks, which soon retreat into the interior to arise again above.
Bull’s Ferry (worthy of a better name,) next appears, with Fort Lee, pretty
rural retreats, whose white houses, churches, and fences, are pencilled as
with white chalk upon the river’s green and sloping bank.
From the east side, turret and spire have passed away, and villages and
country seats adorn the shores until we arrive at Spuyten Duyvel creek,
rendered famous by the redoubtable Van Corlear, who swore he would pass
it in spigt den Duyvel; and also as being the boundary line of Manhattan
Island. To a hasty observer, the shores beyond this are as lonely and wild as
if we were hundreds of miles from any city; but if you will fix your eyes
steadily upon the woodlands which line the river banks, you will catch
glimpses, between the trees, of Grecian portico, Yankee piazza, or Dutch
gable, telling of many a summer haunt of the city’s ‘tired denizen.’
Upon the west side the Palisade commences, a perpendicular wall, or to
speak more scientifically, ‘a columnar escarpement,’ from three to eight
hundred feet high, and two miles broad, thus continuing for twenty miles
along the New Jersey side of the river. As you dabble in geology, I must not
forget to tell you these rocks are of the trap formation, passing into green
stone. Under it are layers of slate, sandstone, and grey limestone, much of
which is used in the city and its neighborhood. Sloops were lying at the foot
of the rocks, as we passed, taking in their load of sandstone flagging, or
roofing slate for the use of the citizens. These sloops, which carry masts
sixty or seventy feet high, show the height of these cliffs, as when seen
anchored below them they appear like skiffs. A few stone-cutters have
erected cottages upon the rocks, which might be taken for children’s houses.
Shrubbery is seen in some spots, while a green fringe of trees is waving
from the summit. These rocks have stood the brunt of that mighty torrent
which wise men tell us once rushed over the country from the north-west,
as if some lake had burst its barrier—for bowlders washed from the
Palisades are seen in various parts of Manhattan Island and Long Island. To
the alluvium brought down by this flood, we are indebted for Manhattan
Island and Staten Island. What a pity ‘wise saws’ are out of fashion, or I
could lengthen my epistle by telling what ‘modern instances’ these islands
are, of the ‘good’ brought down by ‘ill winds.’
As we are both now tired of these Palisades, it is very pretty of them to
retire as they do, into the country, making a fine back ground to the rich
land lying upon the river’s bank, adorned with several picturesque townlets.
These are Nyack, reclining upon a verdant slope; Haverstraw, nestled under
a high, green promontory; and Tappan, which ought to have been first
mentioned. This is, however, but the ‘landing’ of the town of that name,
lying a few miles in the interior, and whose ‘heavens’ ought to be ‘hung
with black,’ for the sake of the talented and unfortunate Andre, whose silver
cord was here untimely loosed.
The river swells out into a broad lake, called Tappan sea, which ought to
be spelled Tap-pann Zee. The west side I have described, except that from
these towns the ground rises into an elevated green ridge of Haverstraw, and
then descends gracefully to the water, ending in a low level spot, covered
with a rich velvet sward, dotted with groups of oaks, and evergreens, among
which a silver rivulet winds its happy way. This is very prettily called
Grassy Point.
Upon our right hand we have smooth, lawn-like slopes, over which the
buildings of Yonkers, Tarrytown, and Dobbs’ Ferry (harmonious sounds,)
are straggling, or reposing in graceful groups upon every gentle swell. Sing
Sing, with its long range of prisons, is before us; so called, I suppose, that
the inhabitants of those abodes may have something cheerful about them. It
is a lovely spot commanding a beautiful view of the river scenery—so
lovely that I am almost tempted to be wicked, that I may be ordered to
reside there, and sit like a Naiad sing singing upon a

“diamond rock,
Sleeking her soft alluring lock.”

That is all very well, you will say, when the rock is already cut out for you
to sit upon; but where one is obliged to hew out one’s own rock, as do these
woful sing-singers, it would be as well to abandon the place to the heroes
who there do congregate. They quarry a white granular limestone which is
used as building material. The antique Dutch church looks very well, seated
upon an eminence; and Wolfert’s Roost, with its Dutch points and gables,
the residence of the celebrated Irving, is another interesting object upon this
shore.
Look behind you quickly, if you would take a last farewell of Staten
Island, whose dark outline has, until now, filled up the back ground,
although we are thirty miles from it. As we turn towards the narrow outlet
between Stoney and Verplanck’s Points, the Palisades are sweeping around
to the east, and rapidly shoving in their side scene between us and the
Island. Now it is gone, and the Narrows are fast being covered, through
which you might, if your eyes could see so far, descry the green ocean and
its gallant barks. The river now seems a lake behind us, upon whose bright
bosom a fleet of vessels, like a flock of birds, are skimming, and ducking,
or reposing upon the water. Two Points defend the entrance to the
Highlands: Stony Point on the west, a bold rocky promontory, formed of
fine horneblend granite rock, and surmounted by a light-house; Verplanck’s
on the east presents a small village, containing a pretty fanciful hotel, and
some lordly dwellings upon the elevated ground above. These are now
behind us, and we find ourselves in the Grand Pass of the Highlands.
Beautiful creations they are—high, green cones, sweeping gradually down
to the water’s edge, where they sometimes appear a verdant precipice nearly
two thousand feet high; or projecting their spurs into the river, and crossing
each other so that the Hudson must wind hither and thither to follow the
tortuous path between them. Various lights give new beauties to these hills.
It is pleasant when the sun shines broad and bright upon them, to penetrate
with your eye their green recesses, or endeavor to distinguish whether those
bushes on the summit are indeed trees or no; and again when a cloud
passes, running rapidly over the surface, the effect is very beautiful. As we
were near the centre of the Pass, the sun was obscured, and a heavy shower
clothed every thing with gloom.—Through the sombre light they seemed
like giant mastadon or mammoth of olden times, couching down upon each
side, musing upon the changes which have taken place upon this diluvial
earth. The rain has ceased, and the mist has all retired into the mountain
caves, save on one spot near the summit, where it lowering stands, like one
of Ossian’s ghosts, whose wont it is, he tells us, to ‘fly on clouds, and ride
on winds.’ Or, it may be the wandering spirit of some red warrior who has
perished on these shores, and now haunts the scene of his former triumphs.
Upon a promontory jutting out from the river, are situated the Military
Schools of West Point. It is a summer’s day well spent to ramble over that
pretty spot. If you care not for the Schools, nor to see the orderly young
cadets, you may admire the monument dedicated to Kosciusco, or walk in
his garden as they call the spot where he used to ‘sit on rocks’ and muse
upon the sweets of Liberty—or you may climb up to that ruined fortress
crowning the summit of the mountain which overhangs the Point. From
thence you have a fine view of all the rugged, cultivated, wild, adorned and
varied country for miles around—and of that broad silver stream bearing
upon its waters many a graceful vessel. The dusky peaks and dells, and
undulations of the several mountains around are here distinctly seen.
The Dunderberg, where is the thunder’s home, raises its frowning head
at the right, followed by Bare Mountain, Sugar Loaf, Bull’s Hill, Crow’s
Nest, Butter Hill, Breakneck Hill, and many others bearing designations
equally euphonius. Among these hills, beside West Point, are many spots
famous in the history of our country. Do not be afraid, I am not going to
begin ‘In the year 17—’ nor tell of the iron chain which bound Anthony by
the nose to the Fort opposite; nor arouse your indignation by pointing to the
chimneys of Arnold’s house; nor make you sad by speaking again of Andre;
nor arouse your patriotism by relating the deeds here done in times of old.
Let the past be by-gones; and turn to the present whose sun is shining down
upon the pretty village of Cold Spring opposite to us, and upon that
romantic white chapel dedicated to ‘Our Lady of Cold Spring,’ which is so
tastefully perched upon a rock washed by the Hudson’s waters. At West
Point is a depot of fossil enfusoria, and sulphur has also been found.
Shooting out of the Highland Pass, we find ourselves in a broad expanse of
water, presenting some of the prettiest views to be seen upon the river.
Seated upon the elevations of the left bank are many towns; Newburgh
being the most conspicuous as it is the largest: and it is built upon a high
cliff of argillaceous slate, thus displaying its numerous houses and churches
to advantage. The opposite shore presents a beautiful green mountain wall,
the highest peak of which is 1689 feet above the river. At its foot reposes
the smiling town of Fishkill.
I must not linger thus by the way. Remember I have four thousand miles
to travel and the summer is passing. Imagine then to yourself a broad and
beautiful river, skirted with cultivated country with often a mountainous
back ground, and rich with ‘summer’s green emblazoned field’—and
wafting upon its waters river-craft of all forms, from the lazy whaler
returning after a four year’s cruise, to the little pleasure yacht. There are
many towns on this river, one of which, Poughkeepsie, is rendered famous
as being the place where Washington, Hamilton, Jay and Chancellor
Livingston met, to compose the Constitution of the United States. The city
of Hudson is agreeably situated upon the summit of a slaty cliff
commanding a view of the Catskill mountains, and the town of Athens on
the opposite bank of the river. Imagine, scattered like gems upon the
borders of the stream, pretty villas of Grecian, Gothic and nondescript
styles, the homes of the Livingstons, Dewitts, Ellisons, Verplancks, Van
Renselears, Schuylers, and other gentlemen of taste and wealth. I saw
nothing of those Dutch elves and fays which the genius of Irving has
conjured up, among the dells and rocks of the Hudson—those creatures are
unfortunately out of fashion; and one might as well look for them as for
high heeled shoes. Perhaps they will come in with the ancient modes. If I
thought so, I would immediately order hoop, train, cushion, buckle, high
heel, and all the odious costume which rendered my ancestresses so
hideous. Alas I fear the ‘mincing dryades’ with high crowned hats, are all
departed—and no more—

“On the tawny sands and shelves,

Trip the pert fairies, and the dapper elves.”

Albany appears at great advantage seated upon a side hill, presenting a

mass of imposing buildings surmounted by many a tall steeple, and
crowned by the Capitol and City Hall, from whose gilded dome the evening
sunbeams are brightly streaming.
I have said nothing about my gallant bark, nor my company—the first a
large and rapid steamboat, arranged with satin cushioned and canopied
saloons—the latter a mixture of all countries and sexes.
But we are at the wharf and I must put up my papers. Adieu.
 LETTER II.
June 15th, 1840.
My dear E.—We shall of course remain in Albany during the Sabbath
for the pleasure of worshipping that kind Friend, who has showered upon us
the blessings we are now enjoying. In the morning we walked to the church
of a Baptist clergyman, Mr. W——h, who has been long celebrated as a
very interesting preacher. This church is a handsome marble structure,
surmounted by a dome, and adorned by a colonade of pillars in front. The
lecture room is below, and we ascended to the chapel, a neat apartment with
a good pulpit and commodious seats. Mr. W. sprang from an obscure
station, being a mechanic, and therefore could only obtain a common
education. What he is, he has made himself, or rather was made by the Holy
Spirit; for we all know how religion refines and elevates the intellect of
man, as well as his affections. After his conversion he rapidly improved,
and now one is astonished at the beauty and purity of his language. He is
not an animated preacher, nor does his forte lie in arousing a sinner; but he
shows forth the truth and beauty of religion, and expounds the Gospel
doctrines with a power and grace, and clearness, which fascinate the hearer.
This church is always crowded by the elite of Albanian society of all sects,
and by the strangers who are in the city.
In the afternoon we attended service in an old Dutch church, one of the
oldest in the city. It is built of brick, and boasts two spires which give it a
singular appearance. The interior is richly fitted up, with gilded chandeliers
and many comforts and elegant conveniences. Here we found ourselves
surrounded by the old Dutch families, whose fathers emigrated from
Holland and settled themselves here; among them were the family of the
Patroon. I looked around with pleasure upon the sober benevolent faces of
the congregation, for I have always felt a very kindly sentiment toward our
Dutch brethren. The peaceful, even tenor of their lives; their contented
spirit, their industry and integrity entitle them to our most ‘golden
opinions.’ The Rev. Mr. Y——, who officiates here, is an able, solid,
preacher, well versed in the fundamental truths of christianity.
 I am happy to say, the people of this city, are a very moral and religious
people. This applies also to the ‘first society’—which is a singularity in city
history. Beneath their influence theatres, dissipation, and extravagance
cannot thrive. Already I seem to breathe freer, although so little distant from
New York; whose atmosphere, rank with foreign luxuries, is like a hot
house over-crowded by fragrant exotics; stifling us with perfume.
We admire this city, which however we have only been able to see in our
odds and ends of time. Its situation is very fine, it contains many handsome
buildings, and it is generally kept very neat. A broad street through the
centre leads up to a pretty square, surrounded by several imposing buildings
—the Capitol occupies a fine position here; it is of dark stone, with a neat
marble portico supported by four ionic columns. The City Hall on the
opposite side of the square, is a noble edifice, built of white marble from
the quarries of Sing Sing, surmounted by a gilded dome. The view from this
dome is beautiful; embracing the city at your feet—green hilly country,
dotted with country seats and towns, among which is the city of Troy—the
noble Hudson, winding among this country and a back ground of
mountains. The new State Hall is a pretty building—the Exchange, is a
huge mass of granite, giving one a great idea of the extent of business
which requires so large a structure for its merchants.
What a different place is this to the town which stood upon this two
hundred years since. Then the only public building was a quaint old Dutch
church, with painted glass windows; adorned with the coat of arms of those
ancient worthies, who, clad in trunk hose and steeple crowned hats, sat
demurely below. There are but few of the ancient Dutch houses left, and
these are daily falling before the yankee spirit of improvement—which
improvement by the bye sometimes merely amounts to alteration. At this
city is the southern termination of the great Erie Canal.
 LETTER III.
June 17th, 1840.
My dear E.—We arose at an early hour, and after looking into some of
the public buildings we returned to breakfast, This dispatched, we drove to
the rail road depot, an ugly building at the head of State Street where we
alighted and stood in a large barn-like apartment, among men and trunks
and boys—the latter screaming, Albany Argus’—‘Evening Journal!’—and
among all sorts of confusion, until we were seated in the cars. Soon
however, two fine horses, to whom I render my thanks, dragged us out of
the barn into open day—up through the square, over the hill, to the
Locomotive Depot, giving us on the way many sweet little back views of
Albany and its pretty country and river, and the round tops of the Catskills
in the blue distance beyond. The snort of a steampipe, and perfume of
grease and smoke, announced the vicinity of our locomotive; and, as if to
show off its paces, the engineer whirled the hideous thing back and forth
before our—at least my—nil admirari eyes. Our horses were unhitched—
the engine attached, and away we rushed, leaving our fine steeds gazing
after us with tears in their eyes, to see themselves outdone by a great tea-
kettle.
There are many pretty villas along the road; breathing places for the
heated citizens below, which I would describe to you; but dashing along at
sixteen miles an hour speed I can only catch a glimpse of white pillar and
portico when the next minute we are three miles away. You must expect no
description of the country when I am on a rail road, for the scenery is all
blurred, like a bad lithograph. I only saw groups of pine trees rushing past
and several bright dots which I suppose meant wild flowers when we came
in sight of Schenectady, an antique dutch town. Before entering it I was
struck by the vision of two immense tarred ropes walking deliberately
beside our car, and discovered we were upon an inclined plain, descending
which, cars of stone were brought up at the other end of our ropes. Our
steam horse was once more exchanged for one of flesh and we set off upon
a jog trot. Near the city we passed a canal basin in which lay several canal
boats, for the Erie Canal passes through here. We entered the city, crossed
the end of a long street filled with bright looking shops, where people and
horses were frisking about in the morning air,—when another large depot
received us in its barn-like expanse. The Ballston and Saratoga train entered
at the other end, and you may imagine the charming confusion as the people
of both trains jumped in and out the carriages, marched and counter
marched until they had settled down into their several seats.
We were not suffered long to look upon this pleasant picture, for at 9
o’clock we were on our way to Utica. We could see but little of
Schenectady while passing through it, but it looked well at a distance. Upon
an eminence above the town stands Union College a fine building of grey
stone.
Schenectady is an Indian name spelt by them Schan-naugh-ta-da;
meaning ‘the Pine Plains,’ a fitting name, for the pine is universal here.
This town has been the property of many different nations—the Mohawk,
the French, the Dutch, and the English having each in succession ruled its
destinies.
After leaving the town, we entered at once the glorious valley of the
Mohawk which runs nearly westerly, and whose course we followed eighty
miles to Utica. There may be lovelier vallies in the world, but certainly not
another like this, for it is unique in its kind. Imagine a long green valley
covered with rich farms—through its centre a bright transparent river,
having a rail road on one bank and a canal on the other; while a range of
hills frame in the picture on each side. So straight is this valley, that canal,
river, and rail road run parallel, and within sight of each other nearly all the
way.
It was one of June’s sweetest mornings when we passed the shores of the
pretty Mohawk, and I was never weary of gazing down into its smiling face,
as we glided along; or of watching the lazy canal boat dragging its rich
freight at the foot of those soft green hills opposite; or, of peeping out the
coach at the rugged cliffs, which reared their bare heads far above our road.
There are many little villages on this route, where we stopped to refresh
ourselves, or to fill the engine. The first was Amsterdam a small Dutch
settlement. Near this place stands a handsome stone edifice which is
renowned in the annals of New York as the residence of Grey Johnson and
his brother Sir William, the dreamer. At these towns there are hotels, and at
other spots refreshment houses, built at the road side, where you are
allowed a few minutes to rest. You are shown into large rooms set out with
long narrow tables, bearing loads of coffee, oysters, cakes, pies, fruit
lemonade, etc.,—you pile your plate with good things, stir around your
coffee or tea, when tingle! goes the bell ‘all aboard!’ rings in your ears, and
you have just time to put your 25 cents into the attendants hands and
yourself in a car when puff! and away you go. Some of these towns are
pretty, as St Johns, Fonda, Canajoharie, Herkimer, and many others.—What
hungry people these travellers are! at every refreshment station the tables
were crowded and at the signal they rushed into the cars each with a cake or
pie, or apple, to finish at his leisure. We may say with Horace,

‘At Fundi we refused to bait.’

One would imagine he was speaking of our little Fonda, which is here
pronounced as Horace spells it. It was named after the celebrated Col.
Fonda.
Fort Plain is a pretty place on the other bank of the river; here I longed to
‘stay one turn’ to hammer a specimen from the encrinal lime-rock which is
found there. The little falls of the Mohawk is a delightful place. The river
here forces its way through a rocky country and falls over successive ledges
of rock in pretty cascades. The beauty of the scene does not consist in
altitude, but in number and variety of these saults; and the foaming river
rushing over its rocky bottom or winding around its tiney islets, and in the
towering cliffs around it. The village is seated upon each side of the river,
connected by a handsome marble aqueduct leading to the canal basin, and
by a neat bridge for carriages. The scene as we approached was very pretty.
You see a frame work of rugged cliffs, enclosing a noisy rushing river with
numerous cascades, its shores crowned with white buildings, and spanned
by a noble bridge; the canal boat is seen creeping at the foot of the hills
opposite, while the steeples, court house and hotels, are peeping from the
trees which cover the sloping bank at our right. Perched upon every jutting
point and grouped around the shores were many shanties occupied by the
children of Erin who have kindly volunteered to make our rail roads and
canals.
When the train stopped before the hotel, instead of the usual sound of
‘Newspapers,’ or ‘Nuts,’ or ‘Apples to sell,’ I heard young voices asking if
we wanted some diamonds! Surprised, I looked out and beheld several little
girls holding up small boxes containing Quartz Crystals. We of course
became purchasers, and found among them some very perfect and pure.
‘Where do you find these?’ I asked. ‘Oh, all among the cliffs ma’am,’ she
answered in the Hibernian tongue—‘and if its stop ye wud, I’d show ye to
the diamond holes where I often dig up the ful of my pocket.’ We observed
this was a large town, having several churches, dwellings, a handsome court
house, and many large manufacturers. Geologists tell us this was one shore
of that lake of which the highlands were the southern boundary. How it
came to wear through these hills and run away to the sea no one can ever
know. The rocks here are limestone, principally; but I observed there was
with it some fine granite. There was an old man among our passengers, who
had lived here ‘when all this was a wilderness.’ He amused us with some
stories of past times; one of which I think interesting enough to tell you.
Here it is to fill up the page.
During the War of Independence there were two brothers, who, although
they were brothers, could not think alike; they joined opposite sides in the
war. It happened while the Division under Gen. Herkimer was destitute of
arms, ammunition and clothing, he heard of the approach of the English
troops. Fight he could not; fly he would not; and he was seeking some
stratagem to better his situation, when fortunately, for him, the English
brother having strayed too near his camp was taken up as a spy. The
brothers, who had been long separated met once more; but it was a bitter
meeting, for one was a prisoner and condemned to die. In spite of their
different sentiments they loved each other. The prisoner earnestly entreated
his brother, who was the General’s Aid, to use all the influence in his power
to save his life. The Aid was conscious he could not succeed unless he
made the ‘worse appear the better reason;’ for his brother had been fairly
captured as a spy, and in consequence of some bloody deeds of the enemy,
his life was to be forfeited. With a heavy heart and darkened brow he
entered the General’s tent.
‘I know what you would ask ere you speak’ said his commander. ‘I have
expected you and have determined upon my course. You come to ask your
brother’s life—it is your’s upon one condition.’ ‘Name it! I am not afraid to
agree to any thing my General may propose!’ ‘I require you to go over to
the enemy as a deserter—tell them exactly of our numbers; for I have learnt
they do not imagine we are so strong; conceal the state of our arms and
provisions; and if I am not much mistaken, they will immediately withdraw
when they know how large is our force. You are then to find your way back
again as you can. When you return your brother shall be free.’
For one moment the Aid hesitated. To appear as a deserter—to act the
spy—to deceive even an enemy, was adverse to his open noble nature—
there was also danger of discovery when returning, which would lead to
disgrace and death.
‘Well young man! what is your determination?’ asked the General. ‘I
will go, and trust in heaven and in you.’ He sought the enemy’s camp, was
imprisoned as a spy—but his feigned tale procured his liberation. The
enemy retreated before so large a force, which they could have conquered if
they had known their distressed condition. It was many months ere the Aid
rejoined his General. His brother was released, and after a parting full of
sorrow they separated never to meet again.
We arrived at Utica at three o’clock, and repaired immediately to
Baggs’s hotel. Here we found an excellent dinner, just ready, which to
hungry travellers is a cheering sight. As I promised to put down our
expenses, we pay $3,75 each, from Albany to Utica, eighty miles. We here
concluded to leave the train, and spend a few days at the celebrated Trenton
falls. After partaking a very nice dinner at Bagg’s hotel, we entered a neat
carriage for Trenton falls, 14 miles north of Utica. The drive is a pretty one,
and up hill all the way. We arrived at dark at a small inn in a forest, and
were obliged to defer our visit to the cascade until the next morning.
After breakfast we walked out to visit the falls. Our way was through a
deep forest breathing forth sweet fragrance in the early morning air.
Suddenly, in the midst of the woods, we found ourselves upon the brink of a
precipice, one side of a narrow chasm two hundred feet deep, while, too far
below to be heard, a mountain torrent was rushing and foaming over the
rock. A range of five ladder stairways led down the steep,—and as we thus
hung over the water, we felt very much like some of Shakespear’s samphire
gatherers, and thought what a ‘dreadful trade’ was hunting waterfalls.
Safely down, we found a narrow ravine, so filled with the roaring torrent,
that there was scarcely room for a pathway beside it. Part of the way a chain
was inserted into the rock that we might, by holding upon it, pass the
boiling whirlpool, if our nerves are strong enough to command our hands
and feet—so scrambling, climbing, swinging, we contrived to reach the
uppermost cascade, which is two miles from the last one. This stream,