med well-conditioned men, and all
paid the same fare that we did, and were treated with quite as much
attention. They seem to get some sort of extra wages from their masters
besides their food and raiment, out of which they can lay by if they are
provident, so as to be able to purchase their freedom in time; but they
do not seem always to care about this, as one man here has $4000, which
would much more than suffice to buy his freedom; but he prefers
remaining a slave. We shall probably see a good deal more of the
condition of the slaves within the next few days, so I shall say no more
upon the subject at present, excepting that all this does not alter the
view which we cannot help taking of the vileness of the institution,
though it certainly does not appear so very cruel in practice as it is
often represented to be by the anti-slavery party.

There are only two great sights to be seen at Louisville. One, the
famous artesian well, 2086 feet deep, bored to reach a horrid sulphur
spring, which is, however, a very strong one as there are upwards of 200
grains of sulphates of soda and magnesia in each gallon of water, and
upwards of 700 grains of chlorides of sulphur and magnesia. There is a
fountain over the well, in which the water rises 200 feet, but whether
by external pressure or by the natural force of the water, the deponent
sayeth not. It comes out in all sorts of forms, sometimes imitating
flowers, and sometimes a shower of snow, on which the negro who showed
it to us expatiated with great delight. When I said there were only two
sights to see, I alluded to this well, and to the magnificent steam
vessel, the "Pacific," which was lying at Portland, about three miles
down the Ohio, below the Falls; but I forgot altogether the Falls
themselves, and the splendid canal described in papa's book, through
which vessels are obliged to pass to get round them, which I ought not
to pass without some notice. The river here is upwards of a mile wide,
but the falls are most insignificant; and though the Guide Book
describes them as "picturesque in appearance," and that the islands give
the Ohio here "the appearance of a great many broken rivers of foam,
making their way over the falls, while the fine islands add greatly to
the beauty of the scene;" neither papa with his spectacles, nor I with
my keen optics, could see more than a ripple on the surface of the
water. These falls, however, are sufficient to prevent vessels of any
g