Box 2, Folder 8: Typewritten Letters, 1829-1832

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1829.

Yellow Bud April 22nd, 1829.

Dear Brother,-

Your promised letter to father is received. I am authorized by him to say that if you succeed in obtaining funds to defer the expenses of a collegiate education, on the conditions you have mentioned, his consent for your going to college will not be wanting. Your letter to Mr. White was excellent.***

I have commenced my botanical excursions for the season. I have added several plants to my catalogue which already consists of upwards of one hundred species.***

Your affectionate brother,

Darius.

I.A. Lapham.

Shippingsport, May 2nd, 1829.

Dear brother,--

Your letter of the 22nd was received last evening.*** Prof. Silliman writes me that he sent me a box of minerals which came as far as New Orleans and then returned in a New York paper a short notice concerning the Welland Canal, stating that it had been pledged to the British Government for the loan of L50,000. A lateral canal from St. Catherines' to the town of Niagara was authorized &c. &c.*** Give me some account of your journey to Sandusky.

Yours affectionately,

Increase A. Lapham.

Mr. D. Lapham.

N.B. Maj. (now Colonel) S.H. Long is now in the employ of the Salt & Ohio R.R. Co. and has published a work of 160 octavo pages called the "Railroad Manuel".

I.A.L.

May 3. Went to Louisville to church, but found there was none; The door was locked. The river has been falling very rapidly

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since the 27th ult. and is now so low as to be entirely off the work, I supposed also it was low enough to allow me to get some shells, accordingly I went over to Rock Island, but the river was so high I did not get many. Mr. Taylor brought to me from his friends in Louisville a specimen, of talc, and two species of sea coral in the recent state. I also got to day a specimen of quartz incrusted with chalcedony from Missouri, and had also a specimen of quartz invested with botryoidal chalcedony presented to me.

May 5. Went in the evening to hear the effect of the echo in the guard lock recess on the music of the German glute. It was delightful, a sharp sound is echoed ten or twelve times.

May 6. River quite low, A very hot day.*** Our guard lock walls are 50 ft. apart, 42 ft. high and 26 ft. thick at the head. In each wall on the inside is a recess 2 ft. deep at the ends and 3 ft. in the middle, having a regular curve or arch of 1 ft. versed sine. and 3 ft. long. Now if a person stand near one of the walls with his face towards the opposite one, at the middle, one of these recesses and makes any quick loud sound it will be echoed from the opposite recess ten or twelve times in a manner which is very curious and delightful as well as distinct, the music from the flute last evening was very beautiful, and best when a tune was played which consisted of a succession of high notes which were lowered by the echo.***

May 9. [A beautiful morning but a cloudy day]: Last evening the wind began to blow and entirely dissipated the clouds, this morning the sun rose in all its brilliancy and morning splendor, notwithstanding which we did not have a fair day. In a few hours the clouds again began to appear and the wind rose. It was cold and we had a fire made in our room.*** The state of Illinois has given power to commissioners to construct a canal from the first rapids of the Illinois River to Chicago as soon as they [can] could.***

*See note book 18-28-9 for omissions.

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1829.

See May 11 to [illegible] book.

May 10. Sunday. Went to Louisville as usual on Sundays with Mr. Henry and Mr. Taylor, and as we got there some time before church time, we took a walk of a mile or so into the country to the south of the city. After church I took a walk up the bank of the river and called at Mr. Mann Butler's, the weather, so pleasant in the morning was boisterous the rest of the say. The dust which was constantly flying about was extremely annoying to our eyes and nostrils.

May 16.*** This morning before breakfast went down to the wharf and saw, on board the steamboat Amazon, which arrived in the night, a large marine plant. It was attached to a hard substance about 18 inches square and consisted of one large leaf without a petiole. The leaf was formed of threads 1/8 of an inch in diameter connected with light net work. It was drawn from the bottom of the sea attached to the anchor.

May 17. Messrs. Henry Taylor and I took a walk in the woods south of this place, making a long circuit to Louisville. We found there was no service at the Presbyterian church and therefore resolved to go to the Episcopal church which we accordingly did.**** As we were coming down we met Capt. Smythe and Lieut. Swift of the U.S. Engrs. The latter gentleman is going to the Muscle Shoals Canal to examine the routes and take charge of its construction. The former is on his way to examine the Cumberland road between Zanesville and Columbus, Ohio, from whence he will go to the mouth of the Elk River in Iowa to re-examine that site for an Armory.

May 21. Mr. Peter Carney, one of the contractors for the masonry fell from a platform built for the use of the cranes attached to the bridge, about 10 ft. in height and struck on his head among the rocks. He was not killed but very badly injured. In the afternoon another accident had just occurred when we went to the bridge. A

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man wishing to come down from the post of a crane, saw a rope hanging before him and thought he would climb down on that. He accordingly jumped for and caught the rope, which was not fastened at the top and he fell down about ten feet, but was not seriously injured. I staid at the bridge an hour or so and witnessed still another accident, though of less importance. A man in turning over a large stone got his finger caught between that and another stone and injured it considerably.***.

May 22. After I left the bridge last evening a man fell from the top of the middle center, which is about 50 ft. above a small pool of water. He fortunately had sufficient presence of mind to catch hold of one of the braces near the top, from which position he was released by the other men without injury to his person.***

May 23. Some appearance of rain. The river falling, work on the canal does not progress as well and as rapidly as it did last year. We have only 300 men now, then we had more than double that number.

Yellow Bud, May 13, 1829.

Dear Brother,--

Received yours of the 2nd inst. yesterday.***** The forests now are robed in green, and I sometimes discover three or four new plants in a day.*** The petals of the cultivated fruit trees are now falling. There have been three white frosts the last three nights and judging by the coolness of the atmosphere we shall have another tomorrow morning.

I have discovered the Phalangium esculentum, which David Thomas wants very much, and an undescribed species Dodecatheon. It differs specifically from the D. media, or D. integrifolium. This I think will be still more interesting to D.T. It is a most beautiful plant.

*See note book.

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1829.

Mr. Ink.

Yours respectfully,

D. Lapham.

May 25. Heavy rain in the night, river rose two feet. Assisted in laying out swing bridge across guard lock. Bought some views of a double lock and entrance to a tunnel in London.

May 29. Leveled for Mr. D'Etiste the place for the posts of an amphitheater or summer house which he is building in a large elm tree near the bridge, which Capt. Basil Hall requested should be called "Halls' Tree".

Weather oppressively hot, at noon we had a heavy gale followed by a shower after which it was cool. Went to Louisville to church this morning, found a Methodist church in a Presbyterian Meeting house:

June 1. Mr. Joyce called upon me to level some streets in Louisville, am to do it tomorrow.

June 4. Went to the Shipyard in New Albany to see a boat fixed up by Mr. Shrieves for the purpose of removing snags from the Mississippi river. Two boats about 100 feet long and 12 ft. wide are placed about 10 ft. apart and strongly connected by timbers running across at the bow and stern. Each boat contains a very powerful steam engine. The timbers at the bow are covered with sheet iron on the forward side which is to be applied to the log and the power of the engines is to remove it.

I went also to see the work for a new jail built of cut stone. In the court house is a man confined and sentenced to be hung for murder on the 30th of this month.

June 5. Took a letter to Mr. S. Penn. Jr, editor of the Louisville Public Advertiser, containing article relating to the progress of the canal, to be published.*******

June 7. Sunday, went to church this morning. Weather cloudy,