and a half fold, 1820-1830, while its neighbor, Mississippi, had grown five fold, 1800-1810, doubled in each of the next two decades, and nearly trebled 1830-1840. Arkansas increased fourteen fold for the ten year period ending in 1820, doubled during the following decade, trebled in the next, and more than doubled in each of the succeeding decades. Texas trebled, 1850-1860.

Another indication of the rapid growth of the West is found in statistics for the cities. In 1810, there were only two cities of any size west of the mountains-New Orleans and Pittsburg. By 1840, however, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Pittsburg each had over 10,000, and by 1860, four cities-New Orleans, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Chicago-had passed the 100,000 mark. Cities, elsewhere, also grew rapidly during the period. In 1800, only 3.9 per cent and in 1840, 8.5 per cent of the people lived in cities of over 8000, but in 1850, 12.49 per cent and in 1860, 16.13 per cent lived in such places.' The drift towards the city, nevertheless, had really begun during the decade, 1820-1830. By 1840, there were forty-four cities with a population of 8000 or more; in 1860 there were 141.8

In 1790, the population of the country was largely confined to the coastal states, omitting Florida, then Spanish,-and most of Georgia.

7 Bogart, E. L.

Economic History of the United States, 252. 8 Ibid., 256. See Appendix II.

Settlements had begun, however, in north central Kentucky and in central Tennessee. In 1810, the line had been pushed westward over New York, Pennsylvania, and into Ohio, and practically all of Kentucky and Tennessee. Settlements had also started well in Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and along the Mississippi River in southern Illinois and in Missouri. By 1830, southern Indiana and Illinois, and eastern Missouri were largely settled as were Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. By 1860, the Mississippi River was passed and the second tier of states beyond was entered. The frontier line was also pushed forward into central Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Even at that time, however, there were areas of sparsely peopled land far to the east, as in northern Maine, northern New York, northern Pennsylvania, western Virginia, and southern Florida.

In opening the new western settlements, many hardships were undergone both on the journey and after arrival in the new home. The first emigrants crossed the mountains or followed wilderness trails and settled in western New York, western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The Ohio River soon became an important route for settlers from the Middle States. Emigrants from Virginia used the Kanawha to reach the Ohio. Those from the Carolinas and Georgia traveled westward by land or floated down the Cumberland or Tennessee. After the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825,

and the opening of other canals, these routes were used. River transportation became more important with the introduction of the steamboat on the Ohio in 1811, and on the Mississippi in 1816. When the Cumberland Road was opened, it offered the best opportunity for land transportation. The location of the routes used, of course, largely determined the nativity of settlers in the different regions. To the north, the New England and New York elements were in the majority; to the south, settlers from Virginia and the Carolinas predominated; in southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, the North and South met.'

Different methods of travel were used in reaching this new "promised land." On the wagon roads some walked, some rode on horseback, and some drove light wagons or wagons of the Conestoga type, which were drawn by horses, mules, or oxen. Families from the north went singly or in groups. The older boys drove by turn, the children kept the cattle and extra horses from straying, while the father hunted for game, and kept a sharp lookout for a place to settle. At night they camped by the road side, near a spring of water if possible, cooked their food, fed their horses and cattle, and prepared for another day's journey of fifteen or twenty miles. Morris Birkbeck in Notes on a Journey in America, described travel by wagon thus:

Turner, F. J. Rise of the New West, 67-83.

"A small waggon (so light that you may almost carry it, yet strong enough to bear a good load of bedding, utensils, and provisions, and a swarm of young citizens, and to sustain marvellous shocks in its passage over these rocky heights) with two small horses; sometimes a cow or two, comprises their all; excepting a little store of hard earned cash for the land office of the district; where they may obtain a title for as many acres as they possess half-dollars, being one-fourth of the purchase money. The waggon has a tilt, or cover, made of a sheet or perhaps a blanket. family are seen before, behind, or within the vehicle according to the road or weather, or perhaps the spirit of the party.

The

"The New Englanders, they say, may be known by the cheerful air of the women advancing in front of the vehicle; the Jersey people by their being fixed steadily within it; whilst the Pennsylvanians creep lingering behind, as though regretting the homes they have left. A cart and single horse frequently afford the means of transfer, sometimes a horse and pack saddle. Often the back of the poor pilgrim bears all his effects and his wife follows, naked-footed, bending under the hopes of the family."

10

Moving a plantation family overland involved greater expense than the emigration of a northern family, for tools, work animals, slaves, etc. had to be moved. The negroes usually enjoyed the changing scenery by day, and the camp fire singing and dancing by night. Thomas Babney, a Virginia slave holder, bought four thousand acres of land in Mississippi and moved west. Smedes in Memorials of a Southern Planter described the un

10 Reprinted in Bogart and Thompson's Readings in the Economic History of the United States, 352, 353.

eventful trip to the new home in the following

manner:

"The journey was made with so much care and forethought that not a case of serious illness occurred on the route. The whole families were quartered at night, if practicable, in the houses that they found along the way. Tents were provided for the negroes. The master himself, during the entire journey, did not sleep under a roof. The weather was perfect: no heavy rains fell during the two months. He wrapped himself in his great-coat, with sometimes the addition of a blanket, and slept all night in their midst, under one of the travelling wagons. 99 11

River travel was easier and less expensive, but much more dangerous, for accidents were frequent and river pirates were more troublesome than Indians. At Pittsburg or Wheeling, the traveler bought or built a crude raft, which he used to transport his family and belongings on his journey down the Ohio. He had to avoid snags and shoals. In the day time he floated down the current, and at night he tied up along the bank. After the trip was ended, he broke up the raft for its lumber and iron, and prepared to settle nearby, or to go on by land. The wealthier emigrants and men without families often used the steamboat, which rapidly became the principal means of travel and communication on the rivers and Lakes." Whether travel was by land or water, however, the journey from

11 Reprinted in Callender's Selections from the Economic History of the United States, 642.

13 Babcock, K. 0. The Rise of American Nationality, 243-245, and Turner, F. J. Rise of the New West, 80-82.