Sketches from Memory: (From: "The Doliver Romance and Other Pieces: Tales and Sketches")

In Short

This narrative is a vivid series of travel essays documenting a journey across northern New York and the Great Lakes during an era of rapid American expansion. Moving from the shores of Lake Champlain through the mushrooming town of Rochester and out onto Lake Erie, the author records the physical landscape alongside the human tapestry shaping the frontier. He observes the influx of Irish immigrants, the mechanics of inland commerce, and the legends embedded in the natural scenery. It endures as an exceptional, highly atmospheric portrait of young America—capturing the exact historical moment when wilderness gave way to industry, ambition, and social change.

The Story

The journey opens on a bright morning as the narrator steps ashore at Burlington, Vermont, having crossed Lake Champlain from the New York coast by skiff. He takes in the surrounding geography—the blue peaks of the New York highlands rising behind him and the loftier Green Mountains standing ahead. Surveying the semicircular bay, he notes the painted lighthouse, busy wharves, and anchored sloops that evoke a coastal fishing town. Yet, he immediately observes the distinct peculiarities of inland waters, including the lack of salty sea air, the poorly tarred vessels, and the fresh-water mariners who lack the authentic air of old ocean salts.

Turning his gaze toward the town, the narrator is struck by the overwhelming presence of Irish emigrants who swarm the hovels near the lake and handle every form of physical labor. He notes their cheerful resilience and robust families amidst their poverty. Moving into Burlington's central square, he discovers a vibrant border marketplace where Canadian paper money circulates alongside American coin, and where Green Mountain boys mingle with British garrison officers, French Canadians, and southern gentlemen on pleasure tours.

Leaving the lake behind, the narrator travels west into New York to visit Rochester. Arriving in the transparent dusk, he views the Genesee Falls—a cataract somewhat diminished by the local mills and canals that have diverted its natural flow. Standing near the precipice, he meditates on the legend of Sam Patch, the famed leaper who jumped to his death from a platform above the falls. He contemplates the tragic nature of human fame, arguing that Patch’s leap was no more foolish than any other desperate pursuit of public renown.

Entering Rochester itself, the narrator marvels at its miraculous, rapid growth. Though built almost overnight out of the surrounding forest, its dusky brick and stone structures possess a premature air of permanence. The streets hum with ceaseless movement: farmers bartering produce, auctioneers selling ox-chains to women, lottery offices luring dreamers, and lawyers hurrying to court. Amidst this bustling activity, he notices the stark contrast of idle, drunken military recruits and a lonely, bewildered woodsman holding a rifle, staring at the instant city that has swallowed his forest.

The journey continues onto Lake Erie aboard a Detroit-bound steamboat that pauses at night near a river mouth for repairs. Under a pitch-black, cloudy sky, a group of Irish laborers builds a massive bonfire on the bank to light their work as they reload the ship's fuel. The narrator watches from the deck as the fierce blaze illuminates the dark wilderness, casting a lurid glow across the water. The workers continually emerge from the deep gloom to toss wood onto the flames before vanishing back into the dark, their fire-lit figures appearing like spectral or supernatural entities working in an abyss.

How It Unfolds

Landing at Burlington Stepping off a small skiff onto the Vermont shore, the narrator surveys Lake Champlain's bay and contrastingly compares its fresh-water shipping to ocean ports. He observes the distinctive, non-nautical look of the local mariners and notes the faint, sickly smell of the unruffled lake.

The Emigrant Swarm Observing the waterfront, the narrator documents the massive population of Irish immigrants who perform the heavy manual labor. He remarks on their poverty, their cheerful demeanors, and their remarkably healthy, round-cheeked children playing along the shore.

The Border Square Walking into Burlington's bustling town square, the traveler finds a diverse blend of cultures, currencies, and social classes. American and British coins share pockets, reflecting the daily commercial intercourse between the United States and Canada.

The Cataract and the Leaper Arriving at Rochester in the evening twilight, the narrator reflects on the diverted waters of the Genesee Falls and the famous fatal plunge of Sam Patch. He muses on why society mocks Patch's death while praising equally foolish pursuits of empty fame.

The Mushroom City Exploring Rochester's crowded streets, the narrator marvels at a city that sprang up overnight yet appears centuries old. He records a flurry of daily trade, bustling courtrooms, and crowded taverns alongside a confused woodsman lost in the new urban landscape.

Fire on Lake Erie Delayed at night for steamboat repairs, the traveler watches Irish laborers burn a massive bonfire on the dark banks of Lake Erie to reload wood. The dramatic interplay of bright flame and total obscurity creates a painterly, eerie scene that lingers long after midnight.

The People

• The Narrator: An observant, reflective traveler who journeys through the northern border states. He seeks to capture the evolving landscape and human spirit of young America, balancing a keen eye for social reality with a romantic, philosophical temperament that finds deep meaning in local legends and chance encounters.
• The Irish Emigrants: Displaced laborers who populate the waterfronts of Burlington and the work sites of Lake Erie. They seek survival, daily work, and a new life in America, facing extreme poverty and hard physical labor, yet they display a resilient, cheerful strength and raise robust children amidst their difficult circumstances.
• Sam Patch: A legendary daredevil whose fatal final jump off the Genesee Falls haunts the Rochester landscape. He sought public acclaim and lasting fame through heroic leaps, ultimately perishing in the attempt, leaving behind a ghost-like memory and a cautionary tale about human ambition.
• The Frontier Woodsman: An unnamed hunter carrying a rifle and powder-horn, spotted standing bewildered on a busy Rochester street. He desires the quiet solitude of the forest, but finds himself disoriented and stranded in the middle of a bustling, instantaneous city that has suddenly supplanted the wilderness.
• The Fresh-Water Mariners: Lake Champlain boatmen who navigate the inland trade routes. They mimic ocean sailors in their attire but lack true nautical craft, symbolizing the unique, semi-maritime culture developing along America's inland waterways.

In Its Own Voice

"The high-lands of the coast behind us stretched north and south, in a double range of bold, blue peaks, gazing over each other’s shoulders at the Green Mountains of Vermont."

This serene view opens the traveler's arrival on Lake Champlain, establishing his vivid appreciation for the natural northern landscape.

"Was the leaper of cataracts more mad or foolish than other men who throw away life, or misspend it in pursuit of empty fame, and seldom so triumphantly as he?"

Reflecting on the tragedy of Sam Patch at Genesee Falls, the narrator turns a local spectacle into a timeless philosophical question.

"In short these wild Irish, distorted and exaggerated by the blaze, now lost in deep shadow, now bursting into sudden splendor, and now struggling between light and darkness, formed a picture which might have been transferred, almost unaltered, to a tale of the supernatural."

Watching laborers work by bonfire on the shores of Lake Erie, he transforms a mundane repair stop into a haunting, gothic tableau.

What It's Really About

Beneath its scenic surface, this narrative explores the dramatic tension between natural wilderness and rapid human progress. The author examines how industry and urban development alter both the physical environment and the human psyche. By chronicling the lives of displaced immigrants, bustling merchants, and displaced frontiersmen, the text raises probing questions about American identity, the fleeting nature of fame, and the human cost of national expansion. The legend of Sam Patch serves as an allegory for a culture obsessively chasing success at any price. Ultimately, the work captures a transitional historical moment, contrasting the enduring, mysterious power of nature—symbolized by dark lakes and roaring cataracts—with the noisy, transient nature of human enterprise.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate travel literature, early American history, and finely crafted prose will find this work delightful. The author writes with a painterly eye, using light, shadow, and keen detail to render simple scenes—a town square, a waterfront fire, a waterfall at dusk—into memorable visual art. It provides an fascinating, eye-witness glimpse into 1830s America during the boom of the canal era and western migration.

Modern readers should be aware of period attitudes and language regarding ethnic groups, particularly the author's patronizing descriptions of Irish laborers. While reflective of nineteenth-century prejudices, these observations also provide valuable historical insight into the social frictions of the era. The writing style is elevated, formal, and reflective, favoring descriptive precision and philosophical musing over rapid action. Those willing to settle into its unhurried pace will discover a rich, haunting reflection on how landscapes change, how cities are born, and how human memory attaches itself to the places we pass through.