USA > Indiana > Monroe County > Bloomington > Historic treasures: true tales of deeds with interesting data in the life of Bloomington, Indiana University and Monroe County--written in simple language and about real people, with other important things and illustrations > Part 4
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Readers of the letter will note that ยท even at that early date Bloomington was afflicted with a hitchrack, al- though Dr. John N. Hurty had not yet arrived on the scene to make war- fare upon it. The price of beef, mut- ton and pork, 3 or 4 cents per pound, as stated in the letter, makes one sigh for the good old days of long ago.
And there was a temperance wave sweeping things before it in Indiana in 1833, just as there is today. Refer- ring to the passing of the grog shop as he had first seen it in Bloomington, "with persons lying about outside, unable to stand or sit," the author says: "Temperance societies have ef- fected an astonishing (and as happy as surprising) revolution in public opinion. I can not detail a hundredth part of the beneficial effects pro- duced by the change in public senti- ment."
Mr. Pering's detailed explanation of the financial system in vogue in Indiana and the United States in 1833, methods of doing business and other comments on social and industrial conditions are remarkably complete and exact, considering that they were merely put into a letter for a friend.
Wife Writes Letter.
Very womanly is the letter written by Mrs. Pering to Mrs. Edwards, and filled with the information about so- cial and household affairs that would interest any woman. It is a delight- ful commentary on the social life of the period, and, though written by a woman who had led a far different life amid refined surroundings in Eng- land, it is warmly sympathetic and ap- preciative.
"The inhabitants here are sociable; indeed, we have found them very friendly," she wrote. "A lady, one of our nearest neighbors, the day after we commenced housekeping, brought me a basket of cakes, preserves and custards. There is more visiting here than might be expected, and the so- ciety is genteel and respectable. Peo- ple, if they have a party when out of a girl, hire a free black woman, who goes out to wait on the company
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Historic Treasures, Compiled by Forest M. "Pop" Hall
at 12 1-2 cents the evening; if she goes early in the afternoon and as- sists in preparations she gets 25 cents.
"The difficulty of getting and se- curing servants is, in my opinion, the greatest objection to . coming to America with a young family. I have had a great deal of trouble on this account. They will only hire by the week. The first we had took umbrage at my asking her to go down in the town for three dozen eggs; said she had never been sent on an errand be- fore and left me at the expiration of a week.
Light On Servant Problem.
"Many of them require to sit down at the table and be treated in all re- spects as one of the family. Seventy- five cents is the price per week here; but in the older states they get a dollar or a dollar and a quarter. I had four young women successively, neither of whom stayed longer than a week, and at intervals was out of one several days together. At last I could not get one grown at any price, but heard of a girl about four- teen years of age, who has been with us the last month, and whom I treat in every respect as I did my servants in England. She appears satisfied, and I hope will continue. The conse- quence is I have to assist a good deal myself, but as she is fond of and takes good care of the children I do not re- gard that particularly, as we have a cooking stove which Mr. Pering pur- chased at Louisville.
"It cost $50, but I would not be without it for any money; it is such an abridgement of labor and has many belongings to it-saucepans, broilers, steamers and every con- venience. If I had had such a one at Chard we could have cooked with half the trouble.
"I put out my clothes to wash, for which I pay 371/2 cents per week. I furnish soap and starch, and they are brought home ironed as well as I could wish. I find it much more pleas- ant to have a young girl that will do as she is told, and put out my wash- ing, than to have a woman grown, who, though she undertakes to wash for the family, does in many respects just as she pleases and acknowledges no master or mistress.
Mentions Mrs. Wylie
"Mrs. Wylie, the wife of the presi- dent of the college, told me that in Pennsylvania, where they lived, they had no difficulty in getting help and girls knew their places.
"The reason they are so indepen- dent here seems to be that they are not obliged to live out; most of their parents own a larger or smaller por- tion of land, on which they can main- tain their family. They subsist a good deal on Indian corn, of which the Americans are very fond. It costs very little and can be cooked in a variety of ways. The boys are employed out of doors and the girls spin and weave the family clothing."
Continuing her interesting revela- tion of Hoosier domestic affairs three- quarters of a century ago, Mrs. Per- ing wrote:
"Our house, though not large, is convenient. A free black woman,
whom I hired to wash it before we entered it, said she would not go down on her hands and knees to scrub a room for the richest person in the land. There are about a dozen free colored persons in this town; they have an expeditious mode of getting a chicken ready for cooking. The fowl is just dipped once or twice in water nearly boiling and the feathers come off as easily as possible, which they throw away, the best goose feathers bring but 28 cents per pound.
"Tree sugar, which is made in this and neighboring places, is 614 cents, cane sugar 1214 cents, loaf sugar 16 cents, dried ham and bacon 614, cof- fee 20 cents here or 17 at Louisville by the quantity and 1 cent per pound carriage hither. People here, after having ground their coffee for use, mix the white of an egg with it, which refines it nicely.
"The flies, which are the same sort as the common house fly in England, are an annoyance in warm weather, and make it necessary to keep every- thing covered.
No Regret for Coming.
"Should our health be continued to us I shall not regret coming to Ameri- ca .; there is not that anxiety about the future, either for ourselves or our families, as every one who is in- dustrious is sure to do well. People are very neighborly, and in sickness make it a point of duty to render each other all possible assistance. All classes live well. They do not take more than three regular meals. Break- fast at 6, dine at 12 and sup at 6. We have good cabinet makers here who make bedsteads and other furniture tastily. Wood is sold at 75 cents per cord in this place. A cord is a pile of wood eight feet long, four broad and four high.
"Miss Pering was married the last day in February. I would give you the particulars of an American wed- ding, having witnessed the ceremony, but my paper will not allow."
Surely it must have cost her a struggle to withhold that wedding ac- count, but postage was very expen- sive in that day, and she had filled the sheet of paper.
The letter of Mr. Pering, while of unusual length, is so interesting as to merit reprinting it in full. To Al- fred H. Pering and Mrs. Ella Blew- ett of Bloomington we are indebted for their copying the original, a task of many hours, that it might be giv- en to the public in this manner.
(These letters were subject for a feature artice published in the Indi- anapolis Star in 1909, just after their return to Bloomington.)
Conditions In 1833.
Bloomington, August 27, 1833 Monroe County, Indiana. U. S. North America.
My dear Sir :
You will consider no apology requisite that your queries have not been answered at an earlier date, as it was understood, (extren- ous,) that some time must first elapse, that after mature deliberation I might be the inore competent to give you satisfactory re- plies. First impressions are often deceitful and will not bear the test of a rigid examina- tion when there is no longer novelty to recommend them. I am happy however to
inform you of my increasing satisfaction with this our adopted country.
The more I see and know of its govern- inent, customs, manners and people, the more am I convinced that it will one day be, (if it is not at present,) the most powerful, the most prosperous, and the most happy com- munity in the World. Some parts of it, it is true, particularly here in the West, look rude and uncivilized to those accustomed to the splendor of European cities; but if we do not see the magnificence, we look in vain for the sights of wretchedness, the squalid misery and perhaps destitution which every- where excite the commiserations of the sym- pathetic. This, in the full sense of the word, is a "young country" and those who are ignorant enough to expect that in little more than half a century, it is equal in improve- ment to European countries, that have been for ages progressing to their present high state of cultivation, will be quickly unde- ceived. The inhabitants however have done more than the most sanguine could expect in that short space of time.
Makes Comparison.
Could a person have visited England century ago, and be now set down there, he would perceive little difference in the face of the country. Most of the inland towns are pretty much the same; the inhabitants it is true, wear somewhat different dress and the number and privations of the poor have fearfully increased with the luxuries and comforts of the opulent.
But in this country, the great and good La . Fayette "le Citoyende den monaes," the com- nanion and friend of Washington, could scarcely credit his senses on revisiting this country about eight or nine years ago. Roads were made; the country was opened, towns and cities had sprung up and the "desert was made to rejoice and blossom as the rose." Sixteen years ago, the spot on which I am now writing was Indian Hunting Ground and almost pathless Wilderness, an illimitable Forest ; and now the frontier settlements are four hundred miles west of this place.
It is about sixty years ago that Colonel Boone and his daughter were the first white persons on the banks of the Kentucky River. That state, now containing many handsome cities and towns, innumerable fine farms, extensive manufactories and beautiful country seats.
The country about Lexington is the finest and most fertile I have seen. The Honorable Henry Clay, the great American statesman, assured me that he saw no land in Europe at all equal to it. He resides at Ashland, a handsome country residence about a mile from that city.
Tells of Industry.
Canals and railroads are being made in every direction throughout this vast country, thus bringing the most distant parts into intimate relationship with each other. The employment of steam in navigation intro- duced a new era in this country. Formerly flat boats only were employed on the Ohio River, which were propelled by poles with incredible toil: and a journey, from Pitts- burg to New Orleans occupying three or four months, was a fearful undertaking. It is now an excursion of pleasure and the passage is made in sixteen or eighteen days. There are nearly five hundred gigantic steam boats continually going up and down. I have seen more than thirty at once at Louisville, Ken- tucky.
The Ohio River is a noble stream and well deserves the appellation of French, "la belle riviere." The Indian name too O-hi-o is intended to convey pleasure and surprise at the first sight of so magnificent a stream. Nearly all the rivers in this country continue to be called by their Indian names, which in their language are signficant-thus. Missouri means muddy and it is a very tur- bulent stream; Mississippi, the mother of rivers, and so of the rest.
The Ohio at Louisville is a mile wide, and a little below that city are the falls; a canal, about three miles in length enables steam- boats to avoid them. They are not very considerable when the river is at the lowest, not more than twenty feet, and when it is high they altogether disappear and boats run over them.
Before I detail anything more of the ap- pearance and prospects of the country I must attend to your questions, lest I should not have sufficient space for the minuteness they require that you may the more easily and certainly understand the relative value of things.
Our Circulative Medium.
I will commence with our circulative medium, which are dollars and cents; one hundred of the latter, as the name implies,
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Historic Treasures, Compiled by Forest M. "Pop" Hall
making one of the former. The dollar
is worth 4-6 English, it is nearly as large as your 5 shilling piece, the cent is about as large as the English half-penny but worth rather more. We passed several English half- pence as cents but they would not take a penny for two cents. Four dollars and forty one cents are the worth of the English sov- ereign but the exchange varies. Money is as marketable a commodity as anything else, and at New York we got four dollars and seventy five cents per sovereign ; sometimes it is more; (our people got $4.85,) and at others it is difficult to get more than $4.50, that is about the average price the banks will give in the interior.
There is a good deal of Spanish money in circulation and we have their silver coins of 50c, or half dollar, .25, 1212, and 614 which is somewhat smaller and thinner than the English 6 pence. Trades people con- tinue to sell their goods at these prices and their combinations per yard, lb., etc., as there are few copper cents, for change, to be met with in the West; and if at any time there should be a few cents over or under they are not regarded ; as people say "any one must be poor indecd to mind a few cents."
French and Spanish Coin.
The French Government are constantly sending out coin on decimal principles to do away with the Spanish money, and we have 5 cent. 10 cent and 20 cent pieces, according to the following table: 10 mills one cent, ten cents onc dime, ten dimes one dollar, ten dol'ars one eagle, which last is a gold coin.
In this State we have principally silver and United States Notes, there being as yet no Bank in this State, but it is expected there will be one chartered the next Legislature, as the United States Notes will soon be with- drawn from circulation, in consequence of the President's veto on the bill for rechar- tering the Bank. The directors are allowed five years to wind up their accounts, two of which have already expired. This Bank has allowed nothing for deposits for a long while, but many gentlemen place their money in it for security. The Government funds have been deposited in it until very lately, but it gave no claim on the Government to the holders of sums of money placed in it, being only a private banking concern. It has always been a safe investment of money and has never stopped or discontinued payment. It is a collossal establishment, and like many other great corporate bodies, if permitted to exist and increase might exercise an unduly in- fluence in the community, inconsistent with republican institutions.
Bank of England Influence.
The Bank of England, during Pitt's admin- istration, it is said, was able to control the Government. There are branches in all the principal cities of the United States, and being the most secure, the notes obtained the preference, as they are current every- where at par, whereas the notes of the Banks, in the different States are only taken at a discount out of the States. Much of the stock, when the Bank was founded, was subscribed by foreign capitalists. Baring, Brothels & Co., hold a considerable share and many others. This may have been neces- sary when there was not sufficient capital in this country to enable the people to place implicit confidence in the Bank without it; but it is now found that there are men of sufficient wealth, and therefore it is become a duty to withold the millions which are annually paid to foreign stockholders, when it would be more profitably employed for the country by the capitalists at home. The late Stephen Girard, (a Frenchman,) who died since I came to this country, came hither poor. At his death he was the most wealthy man in America and perhaps in the World. He has bequeathed 30 millions of dollars for the establishment of a College at Phila- delphia ; the Girard College, beside numerous other bequests.
Various are the conjectures respecting the profitable consequences of the annihilation of the United States Bank. Many suppose that it will depreciate property and render it com- paratively valueless from the scarcity of money ; that it will give rise to numerous petty Banking Establishments, which will enjoy an ephemeral career and then sink into oblivion with the hopes of their sup- porters. Many such existed before the estab- lishment of the National Bank, which were begun in fraud, conducted in villany, and in an evil hour broke and withered the pros- pects of thousands.
Money Scarce in Indiana.
Money is scarce in this State, at present, but the people are looking forward to their State Bank which is to make it. plenty enough. There has been a Bank chartered
at Louisville, by the last Kentucky Legisla- ture, where previously existed only a branch of the United States; it is likely to facilitate commerce and was, it is said, much needed.
There are no Government Funds, as in England, as the National Debt is extinguished, and the revenue is to be reduced to the necessary expenses of the Government. These are not great, as the salary of the President is only 25 thousand dollars a year, and other officers considerably less; in fact the whole expenses of the Federal Government scarcely amount to the salary of one great man in England.
Money is easily remitted and without any difficulty, through the Banks, by Checks as in England, and many of the store keepers, in most towns of the West go annually, or oftener. to Philadelphia, New York and other Eastern cities to buy goods ; who will take charge of any sums entrusted to them.
Americans Intelligent.
The Americans are great travelers, which is one reason they are so much more intelli- gent than the majority in England; they think no more of setting out on a journey of 12 or 14 hundred miles than a person in Chard would of going to London for a few weeks.
Money may be remitted to this country, from England. with equal facility, through almost any Bank; if I wanted a sum from England I should draw on some person, or Bank, there for the amount. take the draught to a Bank here, and as they are unacquainted with me, and the parties in England, they. most likely, would not credit it until it has been sent to England and accepted.
Banks in the interior of the country would send the Draught to some Banking House In the East, with whom they do business, who would send it to England as soon as re- ceived, and when returned, the money is paid. This supposes a single case, and that all par- ties are unknown to each other ; but in case of frequent intercourse the money would be paid when the Draught is presented. If it should not be duly honored by the persons on whom drawn, it is returned with costs.
Banks in general transactions are consid- ered as safe as those in England, particularly in the state of New York, where there is a banking fund to prevent failures. Almost all of the New York notes are considered as good as the United States.
Of private investments of money. Bonds and Mortgages are the best, interest payable annually, or semi-annually.
The rate of lawful interest varies in differ- ent states. New York permits 8 per cent, Ohio 6 per cent, Kentucky 6 per cent, and this state, until the last legislature limited it to 10 per cent, permitted any sum agreed on between the parties. Money is universally considered an article of trade, and every one endeavors to make what profit he can on it.
The highest interest any state will permit can be obtained on mortgage, 7 per cent for a continuance is about the average given ; but persons borrowing money, for short spaces of time will give, 10, 121% and from that to 25 or higher, but I should not like to lend to those who will offer very high interest as there is generally great risk. I have loaned no money at less than 10 per cent and have had more.
How Law Was Avoided.
The way the law is avoided, where it exists, is in this manner. Suppose a person wants to borrow $500 for a year, the state allows but 6 per cent, but you have no money to lend at that interest. He will then draw a Bill in this form,-"Twelve months after date, one or either of us, (if a security) promise to pay Mr .- - five hundred dollars in silver or gold with lawful interest of 6 per cent, etc.,"-You charge the party, be- sides, say 10 per cent and deduct $50 and if you please the 6 per cent also-$30,-pay him $450, or $420, and take his note for $500, send the bill to the Bank, and when due the money is paid. In this way many realize immense sums annually ; but it re- quires some time to know the parties you have to deal with,
My uncle of Paris, Kentucky, (Mr. Pyke,) who is said to be the richest man in the valley of the Mississippi, does a great deal of business in this way. I met him at Lex- ington on going in and he took me with him, in his gig, to Paris which is 18 miles from Lexington. He told me afterwards that he made $300 the day he was at Lex- ington ; the following day, as we were walk- ing out, a man accosted him in the street and they had a little private conversation ; it was on the same business and by him he made $80.
A day or two afterwards he showed me a letter from his Agent at Lexington, enclosing
a Bill for $1,650, drawn by some Gentleman between Frankfort and Lexing.on, wer wi.ich they were willing to take $1,500, "all," as the Agent expressed it "the right sort of men," He has only to write a cheque on the Bank at Lexington, for the sum and send the Bill to the Bank, and they will collect when due.
In loaning money on mortgage it is usual to get the property appraised, and not to lend to the amount of more than half its real value. Should there be a failure of the mortgager the money is safe; the mortgagee has the Power of Sale easily affected.
Avoid Fraud.
To prevent fraud, any one who mortgages his property is obligated to enter it at the Record Office in the county town in which it is situated; and no one need be d'ned hy a second or third mortgage, if he will take the pains to consult the Register.
A good deal of property in the city of Buffalo is mortgaged to a gentler an in Lon- don, which I heard pays exceeding'y we".
Every species of property is sometimes mortgaged in this country,-horses, cows. sheep, oxen and even household furniture, in fact all personal as well as real property.
Common debts are recovered, in d.ffienlt cases, by Magistrates, or by "making a com- plaint" to the "Squire of the District," as he is called, who issues a warrant for the Constable to sell on a summary process. There is a humane law, as it is considered, which prevents a person from losing a'l, in i-se of' distraint. The Constable is obliged to leave the necessaries of life .- one bed for every two persons comprising the family, and various. other things. I need not mention articles of luxury and super 'uity, such as looking-glasses, carpets, etc.,-are alway first sold. and if they do not yie'd sufficient to satisfy the demand, then articles of comfort which can be most easily spared. I was told this by some gent'er en in the state of New York, I cannot say whether the law obtains in all the states, but I believe it does in this.
Pricc of Land.
The price of land varies everywhere record- ing to location and other causes as it does in other countries. In the southern states it is from 20 to 100 dollars per acre. The soil of the Eastern states, it is said, was never half so rich as the Western, 'and the farther emigrants have yet penetrated they say the richer it is,) there being se'd-m more than 7 or 8 inches of soil, while here it is dark, black. rich mould to the depth of several feet.
The prairies, too, are rich, but the soil is shallow, and when dug a foot and a half ( 1 so, they find a fine bed of sand. There is a large prairie about 30 miles from hence. on which no tree or shrub can grow and looks bare as far as the eye can reach; and there are several in this and the adjoining state of Illinois. It is conjectured that the prairies are the beds of lakes which are now dried up, or that they have been more recently covered with water than other parts.
It is evident, from an examination of the country, that Lake Ontario formerly occu- pied a much greater space than it now does : and the same may be said of Lake Erie; as it has no natural confines of rock or mountain on its shores, but the land seems to slope off gently into an immense basin.
Many persons, in the East especially, have imprudently continued raising Indian corn. wheat and other exhaustive crops, until the land is impoverished. It is said sowing it down in Clover secd, etc-mixed with Plas- ter of Paris, will restore and invigorate it, and enable the farmer to go on raising the same crops for 18 or 20 years. I am told they are trying Plaster of Paris extensively in Pennsylvania, and it is found to pred-ce the most beneficial results. But in general, when a man finds his land unproductive with- out this manure he sells out and goes farther West.
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