their thrifty habits. I saw a number of girls of Highland blood employed in a cotton factory near Fayetteville. In modesty, cleanliness, and neatness of apparel, though evidently poor, they certainly compared favorably with the girls employed in a cotton mill that I visited near Glasgow a few years ago.

Wagoners-Having observed from my room in the hotel at Fayetteville a number of remarkable, bright lights, I walked out, about eleven o'clock, in the direction in which they had appeared, and found, upon the edge of an old field, near the town, a camp of wagoners, with half a dozen fires, around some of which were clustered groups of white men and women and negroes cooking and eating their suppers (black and white from the same kettle, in many cases), some singing Methodist songs, and some listening to a banjo or fiddle-player. A still larger number appeared to be asleep, generally lying under low tents, about as large as those used by the French soldier. There were thirty or forty great wagons, with mules, cattle or horses, feeding from troughs set upon their poles. The grouping of all among some old sycamore trees, with the fantastic shadows and wavering lights, the free flames and black brooding smoke of the pitch-pine fires, produced a most interesting and attractive spectacle, and detained me long in admiration. I could easily imagine myself to be on the Oregon or California trail, a thousand miles from the realm of civilization-not readily realize that I was within the limits of one of the oldest towns on the American continent.

These were the farmers of the distant highland districts and their slaves come to market with their produce. Next morning I counted sixty of their great wagons in the main street of the little town. They would generally hold, in the body, as much as seventyfive bushels of grain, were very strongly built, and drawn by from two to six horses, the nearer wheeler always having a large Spanish saddle on his back for their driver. The merchants stood in the doors of their stores, or walked out into the street to observe their contents generally of corn, meal, flour or cotton-and to traffic for them. I observed that the negroes often took part in the bargaining, and was told by a merchant that both the selling of the produce and the selection and purchase of goods for the farmer's family was often left entirely to them.

Several of the wagons had come, I found, from a hundred miles distant, and one of them from beyond the Blue Ridge, nearly two hundred miles. In this tedious way, until lately, before the introduction of railroads and plank-roads, nearly all the commerce between the back country and the river towns and seaports of Virginia and North Carolina has been carried on, strong teams of horses toiling on, less than a score of miles a day, with the lumbering wagons, the roads running through a sparsely settled district of clay soil, and much worse, even, than those of the sandy lands I have described. Every night, foul or fair, the driver and attendants, often including the farmer himself, and part of his family, camp out on the road-side.

Greensboro', the capital of Guilford county, is situated on the Central Railroad, 86 miles W. N. W. from Raleigh, and about four miles southward of the battle-ground of Guilford Court-house. It has a healthy situation, and the surrounding country is fertile. It is a place of considerable business, having two banks and several manufactories. It has several valuable literary institutions, and it is believed that here the first female seminary in the southern states was established.

After the battle of Cowpens, in South Carolina, General Morgan moved off toward Virginia with his prisoners, upwards of five hundred in number. He was closely pursued by Lord Cornwallis, who had hopes of retaking the prisoners. General Greene, who, at this time, was in command of the southern American army, rode one hundred and fifty miles from his main army through the country to join the detachment under General Morgan, that he might be in front of Lord Cornwallis, and direct both divisions of his army so as to form a speedy junction between them. The following account of the subsequent events which took place, and of the battle of Guilford, March 15, 1781, is from Holmes' Annals:

"Greene, on his arrival, ordered the prisoners to Charlotteville, and directed the troops to Guilford court-house, to which place he had ordered General Huger to proceed with the main army. In this retreat the Americans endured extreme hardships with admirable fortitude. The British urged the pursuit with such rapidity that they reached the Catawba on the evening of the same day on which the

Americans crossed it, and before the next morning a heavy fall of rain rendered that river impassable. A passage at length being effected, the pursuit was continued. The Americans, by expeditious movements, crossed the Yadkin on the second and third days of February, and secured their boats on the north side; but the British, though close in their rear, were incapable of crossing it, through the want of boats and the rapid rising of the river from preceding rains. This second remarkable escape confirmed the Americans in the belief that their cause was favored by Heaven.

"After the junction of the two divisions of the American army at Guilford court house, it was concluded, in a council of officers called by General Greene, that he ought to retire over the Dan, and to avoid an engagement until he should be re-inforced. Lord Cornwallis kept the upper countries, where only the rivers are fordable, and attempted to get between General Greene and Virginia, to cut off his retreat and oblige him to fight under many disadvantages, but the American general completely eluded him. So urgent was the pursuit of the British, that on the 14th of February the American light troops were compelled to retire upward of forty miles; and on that day General Greene, by indefatigable exertions, transported his army over the Dan into Virginia. Here again the pressure was so close that the van of the British just arrived as the rear of the Americans had crossed. The continental army being now driven out of North Carolina, Earl Cornwallis left the Dan and proceeded to Hillsborough, where he set up the royal standard. Greene, perceiving the necessity of some spirited measure to counteract his lordship's influence on the inhabitants of the country, concluded, at every hazard, to recross the Dan. After maneuvering in a very masterly manner to avoid an action

The view annexed is from an eminence south-west of the site of the old Guilford Court-house, near the junction of the roads-one running north to Bruce's Cross Roads, the other west to Salem. In the distance, near the center, is seen Martinsville, and between it and the foreground is a rolling vale, furrowed by gulleys. In an open field on the left of the road, seen in the hollow toward the left of the picture, was the fiercest part of the battle. The old log-house on the right was uninhabited, and is at the extreme western bounds of the field of battle. Nothing remains of the old Guilford Court-house but a broken chimney. The view was taken by Lossing, for his Field Book, during a fall of snow.

with Cornwallis three weeks, during which time he was often obliged to ask bread of the common soldiers, his army was joined by two brigades of militia from North Carolina and one from Virginia, together with 400 regulars. This re inforcement giving him a superiority of numbers, he determined no longer to avoid an engagement. The American army consisted of about 4,400 men, of which more

than one-half were militia; the British of about 2,400, chiefly veteran troops. The Americans were drawn up in three lines. The front line was composed of North Carolina militia, commanded by generals Butler and Eaton; the second of Virginia militia, commanded by Stephens and Lawson; the third of continental troops, commanded by General Huger and Colonel Williams. The British, after a brisk cannonade in front, advanced in three columns, the Hessians on the right, the guards in the center, and Lieutenant-Colonel Webster's brigade on the left, and attacked the front line. The militia composing this line, through the misconduct of an officer in giving occasion to a false alarm, precipitately quitted the field. The Virginia militia stood their ground, and kept up their fire until they were ordered to retreat.* The continental troops were last engaged, and maintained the conflict with great spirit an hour and a half, but then were forced to give way before their veteran adversaries. The British broke the second Maryland brigade, turned the American left flank, and got in rear of the Virginia brigade. On their appearing to be gaining Greene's right, and thus threatening to encircle the whole of the continental troops, a retreat was ordered, which was well conducted. This was a dear victory to the British, whose killed and wounded amounted to several hundred. Lieutenant-Colonel Webster, an officer of distinguished merit, died of his wounds much regretted by the whole royal army. About 300 of the continentals and 100 of the Virginia militia were either killed or wounded; among the former was Major Anderson, a most valuable officer of the Maryland line."

Thomasville, Davidson county, on the line of the North Carolina Railroad, 23 miles west from Greensboro', is a very recent village, founded by J. W. Thomas, Esq., in 1855, on a site of which he was the proprietor. The two first buildings were log-shanties. Mr. T. commenced the settlement upon the puritan plan of not selling the land to any person except those of good moral character and of industrious habits. The good results are apparent to the observer on his first glance at the neatness of the dwellings and the prosperous appearance of the place. The "Thomasville Female Seminary" is a brick structure, four stories high, having all the modern improvements for the accommodation of pupils. Trinity College under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal church, six miles distant from Thomasville, is at present under the care of Rev. B. Craven, its founder.

Salem, of Forsyth county, is 120 miles W. by N. from Raleigh. The Moravian female seminary here is one of the largest in the State, occupying four large brick buildings, and about 200 pupils. The place contains a bank, several factories and mills, and is noted for the number and skill of its mechanics. Population about 2,000.

Salisbury, the capital of Rowan county, is a thriving town on the line of the North Carolina Railroad, containing about 3,000 inhabitants. The trap dykes in the vicinity were for a long time supposed to be artificial constructions, the origin and purpose of which gave rise to many conjectures. Among the notable objects of the place is the office in which General Jackson studied law.

Asheville, Buncombe county, 250 miles W. from Raleigh, 125 from Charlotte, 62 from Greenville, Tennessee, and the same distance from Greenville, South Carolina. It contains several literary institutions. The female academy, erected in 1853, under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal church, has upward of 500 young ladies under instruction, who all wear a

*General Stephens, their heroic commander, had posted 40 riflemen at equal distances, twenty paces in rear of his brigade, with orders to shoot every man who should leave his post.

†The return of killed, wounded and missing, on the part of the British, stated the whole number to be 532.

prescribed dress. Lee's College, for young men, has about 100 pupils. The court-house erected here in 1852 is one of the finest in the state. Population about 3,000. The site of Asheville is ascertained to be 2,200 feet above the level of the sea. Several medicinal springs are in the vicinity, which are much resorted to during the summer season. Mt. Mitchell is about 25 miles distant.

Edenton, capital of Chowan county, is at the head of Edenton Bay. (which opens into Albemarle Sound,) 150 miles E. from Raleigh. It is one of the principal places in the N. E. part of the state, containing about 1,500 inhabitants. It was founded in 1716, under the name of Queen Anne's Creek, which was changed about 1720, in compliment to Charles Eden. royal governor of the province. "St. Pauls, an ivy-mantled church, was built here in 1725, and is, evidently, the pet of the place." The fishing business is extensively carried on in this vicinity in the waters of Albemarle Sound.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, MISCELLANIES, ETC.

Joseph Hewes, a signer of the declaration of independence from North Carolina, was born at Princeton, N. J., in 1740. He was educated at the college in Princeton, and was afterward apprenticed to a merchant in Philadelphia. At the age of thirty years he removed to Edenton, and was sent to the continental congress in 1774. He was placed at the head of the naval committee, and he may be consid ered as the first secretary of the navy of the United States. His health failing

Joseph Sewer

him, he was obliged to resign his seat. He left it October 29, 1779, and died in eleven days afterward, in the fiftieth year of his age. He was the first and only one of all the signers of the declaration of independence who died at the seat of government, and his remains were followed by congress, in a body, to the grave.

William Hooper, a signer of the declaration of independence, was of Scotch descent, born at Boston, Mass., June 17, 1742. He graduated at Harvard College, with distinguished honors, and afterward studied law in the office of the cele

Jpm Hooper

brated James Otis. Having completed his studies, he removed to North Carolina, where many of his Scotch relatives resided. He was elected the first delegate to the continental congress. Mr. Hooper, like the other signers of the declaration, was obnoxious to the British party. Every means were used to possess his person, harass his family, and destroy his estate. Feeling the progress of a fatal disease, he withdrew from public life, and died at Hillsboro', October, 1790, aged forty-eight.

John Penn, a signer of the declaration of independence, was born in Caroline county, Virginia, May 17, 1741. His early education was quite limited, yet, by

John Pinn

improving the opportunities within his reach, he qualified himself for the legal profession, and, at the age of twenty-one, he was admitted to the bar. He removed to North Carolina in 1774, where his abilities and patriotism soon became known, and he was sent a delegate from this state to the continental congress. In 1781, Mr. Penn retired from public life and resumed the practice of his profession. He died in September, 1788, in the forty-seventh year of his age.

Robert Howe, major-general in the Revolution, was descended from "the noble house of Howe in England." He was born in Brunswick county, N. Y., in 1732,

and was educated to the bar.

With Cornelius Harnett he was honored with the ban of outlawry for his excessive patriotism. He was colonel of the first North Carolina regiment in 1775, and, for his gallantry at Norfolk, against Dunmore, was made brigadier-general. He was afterward promoted to the chief command of the southern army. He performed much useful service, co-operated with Wayne at Stony Point. He died just after the close of the war.

William Polk, a revolutionary officer, was born in North Carolina, in 1759, and was the son of Colonel Thomas Polk, the leading man in the celebrated Mecklenburg convention. In the Revolution he went north with General Francis Nash, who was killed at Germantown. Mr. Polk was in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Guilford and Eutaw. In 1812, he was offered by President Madison the commission of brigadier-general, but, being opposed to the war, he declined. He died in 1835. Leonidas Polk, D. D., bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church in Louisiana, and General Thomas G. Polk, of Mississippi, are his sons.

Nathaniel Macon, an eminent statesman and a man whom John Randolph, in his will, described as "the best, and purest, and wisest he ever knew," was born in Warren county, in 1757. He served as a private in the Revolution, refusing an office when tendered him, which was characteristic, also, of his subsequent career, for neither the love of fame and power, nor the acquisition of wealth, seemed ever to possess any charm for this single-hearted lover of his country. From 1791 until 1815 he was a representative in the lower house of congress, and from then until 1828 in the senate. From 1801 to 1805 he was speaker of the house, and from 1825 to 1828 president pro tem. of the senate. "He was thus a member of congress thirty-seven consecutive years, a longer term of service than was ever given by one man.' He was appropriately styled the Father of the House, and men of all creeds looked up to him as a patriarch for counsel and guidance." In 1835, he was president of the constitutional convention of the state, and died in 1837, leaving a reputation at which even party spirit could find nothing to cavil.

"The Hornet's Nest," as Mecklenburgh county, was termed in the Revolution, from the activity and numbers of the rebels to the crown with which

BIRTH PLACE OF PRESIDENT JACKSON,

where he carried off the highest honors of his class.

it swarmed, was the birth-place of two presidents of the United States, Andrew Jackson and Jas. K. Polk. The latter was born in 1795, and, at eleven years of age, removed with his father's family to the state of Tennessee, the Mecca of adventurous North Carolinians at that day. He, however, afterward returned to his native state, and remained long enough to avail himself of the advantages of an education at Chapel Hill, Jackson's residence in

his native state was even more brief. When five days old his father died, and a month later his widowed mother took up her residence in the vicinity of Waxhaw Creek, in the upper part of South Carolina. At about nineteen years of age he likewise emigrated to Tennessee.