Early American history help?

Poststructural Pub
1

I’m trying to track down the source of a remarkable piece of information that I ran across once: that as the settlers aboard a ship from England approached land, they could smell the scent of pine from 50 miles out. I remember coming across that in a highly respected source; I can even picture that it was on the left-hand page about a third of the way down; but I can’t for the life of me remember the book. Does this ring a bell with anyone? I’d be very grateful for any help.

I love to imagine what the continent was like then, the fresh air, the fragrances, those dark, starry nights.

Carol

2

Much of the continent is still like that, especially as a person heads westward.

In junior high school they taught us that before European settlers came to the United States and Canada, a squirrel could hop tree to tree from the eastern Canadian seashore to the Mississippi River without ever touching the ground.

I’m not sure if it’s true, though.

3

There’s a claim in this document that it was “175 miles” out:

http://www.grdodge.org/Downloads/h20book/05.H20.Land.81-1124.FA.pdf

and the New Jersey legislature apparently believed the same (the folks above snatched it from their bill):

http://www.westmilfordnow.com/highlandsdraftbill.htm

(There are a couple of places the draft bill above appears on the web, all pretty much identical to the above.)

But that’s as far back as I could get with my meager Googling skills (I could swear I’ve seen the same claim printed somewhere…). Hope you find what you need!

Edited to add:

I found a link with this reference:

“This place, Long Island, that in 1609 Robert Juett, who was Henry Hudson’s first mate, exclaimed as his ship, the Half Moon, slipped in New York Harbor, “we found a land full of great oaks, with grass and flowers, as pleasant as ever has been seen.” Daniel Denton, 61 years later had this to say, “The greatest part of the Island is very full of Timber, as Oaks, white and red, Walnut-trees, Chestnut-trees, which yield store of mast for swine…also Maples, Cedars, Saxifrage, Beach, Birch, Holly, Hazel, with many sorts more…the Countrey itself sends forth such a fragrant smell that it may be perceived at Sea before they can make the land.””

It’s here: http://www.pinebarrens.org/publications/this_place.php

Maybe you just need to find a good reference to Daniel Denton somewhere . . . The above quote may have come from the document someone’s posted here:

http://www.dentongenealogy.org/Brief%20Description%20of%20New%20York.htm

4

Outstanding! Thank you so much! I did think it was more than 50 miles but I didn’t want to seem overly dramatic. :wink: I am so grateful!

And it’s really nice to see you back on the board, herbi12.

Carol

5

That’s awesome, herbivore12 (Herb?) — I tried myself and could find nothing.

I can offer this extra tidbit, however: the distance to the horizon in miles is the square root of 3/2 your height in feet. So if your ship’s crow’s nest is 80 feet high you can see about 11 miles to the horizon; if the coastline has features that are likewise 80 feet high that’s another 11 miles to your line of sight, meaning you sight the land 22 miles away.

Caj

6

Wondering what the smell is now 175 miles of the coast of North America! It would it be enough to turn around and go the other way!

MarkB

7

You can call me Herb (though it’s really Aaron).

It was fun poking quickly through the Web, Carol. I stumbled over some fun historical sites along the way; I love the digressions. Glad if I found something useful to you, though, of course.

Certainly make history come more alive when you can even evoke the pine-scented air.

–Aaron

8

Can I call you Snoogie-Woogie (though it’s really Aaron)? :slight_smile:

9

Anything you want, doll; who can resist the wiles of that big, bald, bespectacled, even Brobdingnagian bust in your avatar?

S-W

10

Around here, in the springtime it usually smells like wild onions.

11

Thanks again, S-W, :slight_smile: and to all who commented.

And Caj, this is great–has the same evocative feel as pine-scented air. :wink:

Walden, what do wild onions smell like?

Carol

12

Sweaty, from being so wild.

13

A lot like domesticated ones. But sometimes it’s wild garlic on the
air, in which case it smells like… garlic.

Our native onions really can be pretty:

A blooming onion.

14

Ooooh. We have those growing here. I’ve found that if they have pretty flowers they don’t usually taste good, and the ones that taste good don’t have pretty flowers. I wish somebody could breed an onion that had pretty flowers AND tasted good. I’d grow them.

15

I don’t think any onion is very good once it’s blossomed. One time, when I was a teenager I cooked with some wild onions that were past this point and they were okay, but too tough and strong.

I am aware there is plenty of scenic country in my own immediate vicinity, but I was just reading about the states west of the Rockies, and how that so much of the land is owned by the Federal government. I rather wish there were a little more nature reserves around here. When I was a child, we lived a few years right near the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, in southwestern Oklahoma. It was a wonderful experience spending time in such a place with the free range buffalo and various sorts of deer and prairie dogs and panthers (okay… this latter can be scary, and they are known hereabouts, too) and such. I’ve also enjoyed visits to the Ouachita National Forest in Eastern Oklahoma. I’m not opposed to progress, but it is great when the expanses can be preserved, and in some cases even reclaimed to the natural beauty. I’m planning to visit some of the state-designated Scenic Rivers in my area and do some photography, this year.

16

They sell those bulbs that are called something like “alum” or “allium”, something like that. They’re a type of onion grown especially for the flowers. Anyway, I’ve seen of them with flowers the size of mushmelons. They get huge. I’ve never eaten any of them, though. I’m not sure I’d want to.

Post lots of pictures! :slight_smile: