the quaker colonies-第20节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


one　had　ever　ridden　to　it　in　a　wheeled　vehicle。　Wagons　and　carriages　were　very　scarce　until　after　the　Revolution。　Carts　for　occasions　of　ceremony　as　well　as　utility　were　used　before　wagons　and　carriages。　For　a　hundred　and　fifty　years　the　horse's　back　was　the　best　form　of　conveyance　in　the　deep　sand　of　the　trails　and　roads。　This　was　true　of　all　southern　Jersey。　Pack　horses　and　the　backs　of　Indian　and　negro　slaves　were　the　principal　means　of　transportation　on　land。　The　roads　and　trails；　in　fact；　were　so　few　and　so　heavy　with　sand　that　water　travel　was　very　much　developed。　The　Indian　dugout　canoe　was　adopted　and　found　faster　and　better　than　heavy　English　rowboats。　As　the　province　was　almost　surrounded　by　water　and　was　covered　with　a　network　of　creeks　and　channels；　nearly　all　the　villages　and　towns　were　situated　on　tidewater　streams；　and　the　dugout　canoe；　modified　and　improved；　was　for　several　generations　the　principal　means　of　communication。　Most　of　the　old　roads　in　New　Jersey　followed　Indian　trails。　There　was　a　trail；　for　example；　from　the　modern　Camden　opposite　Philadelphia；　following　up　Cooper's　Creek　past　Berlin；　then　called　Long…a…coming；　crossing　the　watershed；　and　then　following　Great　Egg　Harbor　River　to　the　seashore。　Another　trail；　long　used　by　the　settlers；　led　from　Salem　up　to　Camden；　Burlington；　and　Trenton；　going　round　the　heads　of　streams。　It　was　afterwards　abandoned　for　the　shorter　route　obtained　by　bridging　the　streams　nearer　their　mouths。　This　old　trail　also　extended　from　the　neighborhood　of　Trenton　to　Perth　Amboy　near　the　mouth　of　the　Hudson；　and　thus；　by　supplementing　the　lower　routes；　made　a　trail　nearly　the　whole　length　of　the　province。

As　a　Quaker　refuge；　West　Jersey　never　attained　the　success　of　Pennsylvania。　The　political　disturbances　and　the　continually　threatened　loss　of　self…government　in　both　the　Jerseys　were　a　serious　deterrent　to　Quakers　who；　above　all　else；　prized　rights　which　they　found　far　better　secured　in　Pennsylvania。　In　1702；　when　the　two　Jerseys　were　united　into　one　colony　under　a　government　appointed　by　the　Crown；　those　rights　were　more　restricted　than　ever　and　all　hopes　of　West　Jersey　becoming　a　colony　under　complete　Quaker　control　were　shattered。　Under　Governor　Cornbury；　the　English　law　was　adopted　and　enforced；　and　the　Quakers　were　disqualified　from　testifying　in　court　unless　they　took　an　oath　and　were　prohibited　from　serving　on　juries　or　holding　any　office　of　trust。　Cornbury's　judges　wore　scarlet　robes；　powdered　wigs；　cocked　hats；　gold　lace；　and　side　arms；　they　were　conducted　to　the　courthouse　by　the　sheriff's　cavalcade　and　opened　court　with　great　parade　and　ceremony。　Such　a　spectacle　of　pomp　was　sufficient　to　divert　the　flow　of　Quaker　immigrants　to　Pennsylvania；　where　the　government　was　entirely　in　Quaker　hands　and　where　plain　and　serious　ways　gave　promise　of　enduring　and　unmolested　prosperity。

The　Quakers　had　altogether　thirty　meeting　houses　in　West　Jersey　and　eleven　in　East　Jersey；　which　probably　shows　about　the　proportion　of　Quaker　influence　in　the　two　Jerseys。　Many　of　them　have　since　disappeared；　some　of　the　early　buildings；　to　judge　from　the　pictures；　were　of　wood　and　not　particularly　pleasing　in　appearance。　They　were　makeshifts；　usually　intended　to　be　replaced　by　better　buildings。　Some　substantial　brick　buildings　of　excellent　architecture　have　survived；　and　their　plainness　and　simplicity；　combined　with　excellent　proportions　and　thorough　construction；　are　clearly　indicative　of　Quaker　character。　There　is　a　particularly　interesting　one　in　Salem　with　a　magnificent　old　oak　beside　it；　another　in　the　village　of　Greenwich　on　the　Cohansey　farther　south；　and　another　at　Crosswicks　near　Trenton。

In　West　Jersey　near　Mount　Holly　was　born　and　lived　John　Woolman；　a　Quaker　who　became　eminent　throughout　the　English　speaking　world　for　the　simplicity　and　loftiness　of　his　religious　thought　as　well　as　for　his　admirable　style　of　expression。　His　〃Journal；〃　once　greatly　and　even　extravagantly　admired；　still　finds　readers。　〃Get　the　writings　of　John　Woolman　by　heart；〃　said　Charles　Lamb；　〃and　love　the　early　Quakers。〃　He　was　among　the　Quakers　one　of　the　first　and　perhaps　the　first　really　earnest　advocate　of　the　abolition　of　slavery。　The　scenes　of　West　Jersey　and　the　writings　of　Woolman　seem　to　belong　together。　Possibly　a　feeling　for　the　simplicity　of　those　scenes　and　their　life　led　Walt　Whitman；　who　grew　up　on　Long　Island　under　Quaker　influence；　to　spend　his　last　years　at　Camden；　in　West　Jersey。　His　profound　democracy；　which　was　very　Quaker…like；　was　more　at　home　there　perhaps　than　anywhere　else。



Chapter　IX。　Planters　And　Traders　Of　Southern　Jersey

Most　of　the　colonies　in　America；　especially　the　stronger　ones；　had　an　aristocratic　class；　which　was　often　large　and　powerful；　as　in　the　case　of　Virginia；　and　which　usually　centered　around　the　governor；　especially　if　he　were　appointed　from　England　by　the　Crown　or　by　a　proprietor。　But　there　was　very　little　of　this　social　distinction　in　New　Jersey。　Her　political　life　had　been　too　much　broken　up；　and　she　had　been　too　long　dependent　on　the　governors　of　New　York　to　have　any　of　those　pretty　little　aristocracies　with　bright　colored　clothes；　and　coaches　and　four；　flourishing　within　her　boundaries。　There　seems　to　have　been　a　faint　suggestion　of　such　social　pretensions　under　Governor　Franklin　just　before　the　Revolution。　He　was　beginning　to　live　down　the　objections　to　his　illegitimate　birth　and　Toryism　and　by　his　entertainments　and　manner　of　living　was　creating　a　social　following。　There　is　said　also　to　have　been　something　a　little　like　the　beginning　of　an　aristocracy　among　the　descendants　of　the　Dutch　settlers　who　had　ancestral　holdings　near　the　Hudson；　but　this　amounted　to　very　little。

Class　distinctions　were　not　so　strongly　marked　in　New　Jersey　as　in　some　other　colonies。　There　grew　up　in　southern　Jersey；　however；　a　sort　of　aristocracy　of　gentlemen　farmers；　who　owned　large　tracts　of　land　and　lived　in　not　a　little　style　in　good　houses　on　the　small　streams。

The　northern　part　of　the　province；　largely　settled　and　influenced　by　New　Englanders；　was　like　New　England　a　land　of　vigorous　concentrated　town　life　and　small　farms。　The　hilly　and　mountainous　nature　of　the　northern　section　naturally　led　to　small　holdings　of　land。　But　in　southern　Jersey　the　level　sandy　tracts　of　forest　were　often　taken　up　in　large　areas。　In　the　absence　of　manufacturing；　large　acreage　naturally　became；　as　in　Virginia　and　Maryland；　the　only　mark　of　wealth　and　social　distinction。　The　great　landlord　was　looked　up　to　by　the　lesser　fry。　The　Quaker　rule　of　discountenancing　marrying　out　of　meeting　tended　to　keep　a　large　acreage　in　the　family　and　to　make　it　larger　by　marriage。　A　Quaker　of　broad　acres　would　seek　for　his　daughter　a　young　man　of　another　landholding　Quaker　family　and　would　thus　join　the　two　estates。

There　was　a　marked　difference　between　East　Jersey　and　West　Jersey　in　county　organization。　In　West　Jersey　the　people　tended　to　become　planters；　their　farms　and　plantations　somewhat　like　those　of　the　far　South；　and　the　political　unit　of　government　was　the　county。　In　East　Jersey　the　town　was　the　starting　point　and　the　county　marked　the　boundaries　of　a　collection　of　towns。　This　curious　difference；　the　result　of　soil；　climate；　and　methods　of　life；　shows　itself　in　other　States　wherever　South　and　North　meet。　Illinois　is　an　example；　where　the　southern　part　of　the　State　is　governed　by　the　county　system；　and　the　northern　part　by　the　town　system。

The　lumberman；　too；　in　clearing　off　the　primeval　forest　and　selling　the　timber；　usually　dealt　in　immense　acreage。　Some　families；　it　is　said；　can　be　traced　steadily　proceeding　southward　as　they　stripped　off　the　forest；　and　started　sawmills　and　gristmills　on　the　little　streams　that　trickled　from　the　swamps；　and　like　beavers　making　with　their　dams　those　pretty　ponds　which　modern　lovers　of　the　picturesque　are　now　so　eager　to　find。　A　good　deal　of　the　lumbering　in　the　interior　pines　tract　was　carried　on　by　persons　who　leased　the　premises　from　owners　who　lived　on　plantations　along　the　Delaware　or　its　tributary　streams。　These　operations　began　soon　after　1700。　Wood　roads　were　cut　into　the　Pines；　sawmills　were　started；　and　constant　use　turned　some　of　these　wood　roads　into　the　highways　of　modern　times。

There　was　a　speculative　tinge　in　the　operations　of　this　landed　aristocracy。　Like　the　old　tobacco　raising　aristocracy　of　Virginia　and　Maryland；　they　were　inclined　to　go　from　tract　to　tract；　skinning　what　they　could　from　a　piece　of　deforested　land　and　then　seeking　another　virgin　tract。　The　roughest　methods　were　used；　wooden　plows；　brush　harrows；　straw　collars；　grapevine　harness；　and　poor　shelter　for　animals　and　crops；　but　were　the　Virginia　methods　any　better？　In　these　operations　there　was　apparently　a　good　deal　of　sudden　profit　and　mushroom　prosperity　accompanied　by　a　good　deal　of　debt　and　insolvency。　In　this；　too；　they　were　like　the　Virginians　and　Carolinians。　There　seem　to　have　been　also　a　good　many　slaves　in　West　Jersey；　brought；　as　in　the　southern　colonies；　to　work　on　the　large　estates；　and　this　also；　no　doubt；　helped　to　foster　the　aristocratic　feeling。

The　best　days　of　the　Jersey　gentlemen　farmers　came　probably　when　they　could　no　longer　move　from　tract　to　tract。　They