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a visit , and was much pleased with the extraordinary progress made in four years , and the order and unanimity of their proceedings - > he says it has the neatness and comfort of an Eng lish town , and there are many elegant and substantial brick buildings erected : they have also manufactories to supply themselves and others with all the conveniences of life . ^ ' In consequence of coming by way
of New Orleans , we have seen less of America , than if we had travelled over-land . At that place , though the population consists principally of French and Spaniards , we saw many Eastern Americans , as we did also at Shawnee Town , where we were
detained many weeks , and lodged at a public tavern . We generally sat down to table with upwards of thirty gentlemen , many of them employed in different trades and professions in the town , the rest travellers , and we are inclined to judge very favourably of the American character : they are
in general well-informed and polite . This settlement is almost entirely English—we have a few Americans amongst us , and they are agreeable . The back-woods-men are quite a class of themselves , some of them are wild , semi-barbarous people , but most of those we have near us , if treated well ,
are rery civil ; they sometimes pay us an uninvited visit , ( the ladies , [ mean , ) and after sitting an hour , asking a few questions about England , and making good use of their eyes , they generally conclude with saying , * well , I reckon I must be going , ' wish us good day and depart . These
women are in general very ignorant , but they are exceedingly independent , riding about the country on horsehack , and visiting one another ; their dwellings are not very cleanly , and , though very fond of finery , they do not look comfortably dressed like English women of the same rank of life . Some of the men are great raw-< nesf as they are called , but by preventing the sale of whiskey in this settlement , we have now no
disturbance from them . We cannot say the same of - , _ , the town that » as established , which is situated on * pleasant elevation about two miles from hence , and is considered a thriv-Uig place . " Last week a . great number of In-
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dians paid us a visit * and encamped a few miles from us ; they were very fond of stopping at the door to converse with us , and ask for a draught of water ; they were very friendly , and fond of shaking hands with my brothers , and when they found we were all English , they exclaimed , " then good all ; ' * they were Miamies , and were much finer men than most of the other tribes that we had seen on the shores of the Mississippi— . some of these were very tall and wellmade , and their faces by no means unpieastng , as far as we could distinguish through the stripes of vennillion paint with which they ornament themselves 5 they wear large feathers stuck in their hair , and silver ear-rings and bracelets ; their chief , who called himself Captain Billy , and who was particularly sociable , had a ring in his nose : they bring moccasins and skins to sell , riding about on horseback at a very quick pace , but are sadly
addicted to drinking whiskey if they can procure it . We feel no fear of molestation from them , as they are in general very peaceable ; there was a skirmish between them and the
Americans some time since , at Vineennes , when some Americans lost their lives , and three Indians were hung , whicli they feel as a deep disgrace , and have been very quiet ever since . li We have heard that W . C
and family sailed from England some months ago , but have received no intelligence of their safe arrival on this continent ; we hope soon to hear from , or see W . C , as he had some
intention of preceding his family . 1 hope this spot will have sufficient inducements for him to iix his final abode near us ; it will be very delightful to have them for near neighbours . We expect another friend's family , and hope , when they both arrive , to be able to form a little meeting of our own . There arc no Friends in the
Illinois , I believe , but there are a few in Indiana ; anil , as the country becomes more thickly peopled , there will , no doubt , be many of our society scattered in different parts . " My brothers ; ire busily employed in hewing clown trees , clearing land
and fencing in a garden , and we hope soon to begin farming on a pleasant tract of land , about a mile from hence , ' mostly prairie , where , I ex-
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Extracts of Letters from the Illinois . y 691
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1819, page 691, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1778/page/39/
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