Editorialana. 221
manding why Rogers and his men had come
thither without his per-
mission and what was their errand. Up to
this time, the shrewd and
ambitious chieftain had been the firm
ally of the French, but when Rogers
informed him that Canada had been
surrendered to the English and that
he was on his way to take possession of
Detroit; the calumet was smoked
and harmony seemed established."
Then follow the details of the Pontiac
conspiracy. Pontiac, the great Ottawa
Chief, may be regarded as an Ohio
Indian. It is claimed with good
authority, and so far as we can learn
without contradiction, that he was born
at the mouth of the Ottawa river,
now Auglaize, where it empties into the
Maumee, the present site of
Defiance. Thus Ohio history begins. Mr.
Avery's Fourth Volume, like all the
others, is profusely illustrated with
portraits of the personages of whom it
treats, with diagrams of the geography
of the respective events, and fac-
similes of the historic documents
pertaining thereto. No work to our
knowledge has been so lavishly adorned
with valuable and illuminating
illustrations. Many of them in colors
are works of art. We continue
to commend this work to the readers of
American history.
DIARY
OF MANASSEH CUTLER.
In a recent publication, William E.
Curtis, the distinguished
journalist and author, gives excerpts
from the journal and letters
of Manasseh Cutler. Much of his article
deserves a place in the pages
of the Quarterly. Mr. Curtis
says:
Charles Gates Dawes of Chicago has the
diary of his ancestor,
Manasseh Cutler, the founder of Ohio,
the real author of the Ordinance
of '87, a member of Congress for many
years from Massachusetts,
clergyman, merchant, teacher, scientist,
surveyor, explorer and pa-
triot-one of the ablest and most
versatile characters in American
history.
In his journal and his letters to his
family and friends at home
Mr. Cutler wrote many interesting
accounts of his experiences in
Washington, as a member of Congress during
the administration of
Thomas Jefferson. On January 1, 1802, he
tells of the ceremonies at
the White House:
"Although the President has no
levees, a number of federalists
agreed to go from the Capitol in coaches
to the President's house and
wait upon him with the compliments of
the season. We were received
with politeness, entertained with cake
and wine. The mammoth cheese
having been presented this morning, the
President invited us to go,
as he expressed it to the mammoth room
to see the mammoth cheese.
There we viewed this monument of human
weakness and folly as long
as we pleased and then returned."
222 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
THE GREAT DEMOCRATIC CHEESE.
It is explained in a footnote that,
"When Jefferson was chosen
President, Elder John Leland, a
Massachusetts clergyman of strong
Democratic proclivities, proposed that
his flock celebrate the victory
by making for the new Chief Magistrate
the biggest cheese the world
had even seen. Every man and woman who
owned a cow was to
give for this cheese all the milk she
yielded on a certain day--only
no federal cow must contribute a drop. A
huge cider press was fitted
up to make it in and on the appointed
day the whole country turned
out with pails and tubs of curd, the
girls and women in their best
gowns and ribbons, and the men in their
Sunday coats and clean
shirt collars. The cheese was put to
press with prayer, hymn singing
and great solemnity. When it was well
dried it weighed 1600 pounds,
and Rev. John Leland drove with it all
the way to Washington. It
was a journey of three weeks. All the
country had heard of the big
cheese and came out to look at it as the
elder drove along."
A few days later Mr. Cutler writes
again: "Last Sunday, Le-
land, the cheese-monger, a poor,
ignorant, illiterate clownish preacher,
who was the conductor of this monument
of human weakness and
folly to its place of destination, was
introduced as preacher to both
houses of Congress. The President,
contrary to all former practice,
made one of the audience, and a great
number of ladies and gentle-
men from I know not where. Such a performance I never heard
before and hope never shall again. The
text was: 'And behold, a
greater than Solomon is here.' The
design of the preacher was prin-
cipally to apply the allusion, not to
the person intended in the text,
but to him (Jefferson), who was then present. Such a farrago,
bawled with stunning voice, horrid tone,
frightful grimaces and ex-
travagant gestures I believe was never
heard by any decent auditory
before. Shame or laughter appeared in
every countenance. Such an
outrage upon religion, the Sabbath, and
common decency was ex-
tremely painful to every sober, thinking
person present."
John Leland, the mammoth cheese man, was
born at Grafton,
Mass., May 14, 1754, and died at North
Adams, Mass., January
14, 1841. From 1792 until his death,
forty-nine years, he was pastor
of the Baptist Church at Cheshire, Mass.
He is described as a man
of great eccentricity and shrewdness,
but without culture, and a zeal-
ous Democrat.
DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT.
Saturday, February 6, 1802, Mr. Cutler
was invited to dine with
President Jefferson, in company with six
other members of the House
of Representatives and three members of
the Senate, and he confided
to his journal that the dinner was not
so elegant as when he was en-
tertained at the White House a year
previous. But the food appears
Editorialana. 223
to have been abundant-"Rice soup,
round of beef, turkey, mutton,
ham, loin of veal, cutlets of mutton or
veal, fried eggs, fried beef,
a pie called macaroni, which appears to
be a rich crust filled with
the strillions of onions or shallots,
which I took it to be, tasted very
strong and not agreeable. Mr. Lewis told
me there was none in it;
it was an Italian dish, and what
appeared like onions was made of
flour and butter, with a particularly
strong liquor mixed with them.
Ice cream very good, crust wholly dried,
crumbled into thin flakes;
a dish somewhat like a pudding-inside
white as milk or curd, very
porous and light, covered with cream
sauce; very fine. Many other
jimcracks, a great variety of fruit, plenty
of wines and good. Presi-
dent social. We drank tea and viewed
again the great cheese."
THE DANDIFIED DIPLOMAT.
In the diary of his daily life as a
member of Congress from
1801 to 1805, Mr. Cutler gives us
charming glimpses of Washington
society and official entertainments in
those days. He tells a good deal
about the French minister, Gen. Taureau,
who had occupied a con-
spicuous position in France for several
years before coming to Wash-
ington in 1804: "Of obscure birth,
but handsome and clever, he made
his way up and became an aid to Napoleon
Bonaparte. In the rapid
changes of popular favor, he was
condemned to death-his door
marked with the fatal guide to the
bloody guillotiners. A servant girl
employed about the jail rubbed out the
mark and so saved his life,
in return for which he married her. The
alliance, of course, proved
to be a most unhappy one, ending in a
separation at the time he was
representing his country in
Washington."
While calling at the White House on
New Year day, 1805,
Mr. Cutler saw Gen. Taureau for the
first time, and in his diary says:
"We met him at the door covered
with lace almost from head to foot,
and very much powdered. Walked with his
hat off, though it was
rather misty. His secretary and one aid
and one other with him."
Later Mr. Cutler called at the legation
in Georgetown and says: "We
proposed in our family (as he always
refers to his fellow-congressmen
at the boarding house on Capitol Hill)
to call on Mr. Taureau, French
minister, who had left his card for us.
Six of us went in a coach
to his house. As he was at home we went
in and were conducted to
a large hall up one pair of stairs.
Found him disposed to be quite
social, though he speaks very little
English. One of his aides-de-
camp assisted in the conversation. We
tarried about an hour and re-
tired. We then went to the English
minister's, and left our cards
without getting out of our
coaches."
224 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
PARTY AT THE BRITISH LEGATION.
Tuesday, February 12, Mr. Cutler dined
at the British legation
and makes this record in his diary:
"This day, in compliance with
card received eight or ten days ago,
dined with his excellency, Mr.
Merry, envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary to his Britannic
majesty. Company, twenty-eight; thirteen
members of Congress. Table
superb with plate in center, and in the
last service the knives, forks
and spoons were gold. Six double-branch
candlesticks with candles
lighted. Very pleasing
entertainment. Coffee in drawing
room im-
mediately after dining. Retired about
nine. Six from our family went
in a coach and returned upon foot."
Mr. Cutler seems to have become quite
intimate at the British
legation, for he dined there again the
following week, and attended
a card party there a few days later. His
diary for February 26 con-
tains this entry: "This evening at
British minister's by invitation to
tea and cards. The company very large.
About thirty-five members
of both houses of Congress, all the
heads of departments, their ladies
and daughters, many gentlemen and ladies
of the city of Georgetown,
and many strangers. I presume the number
150 or 200." And again,
March 2, he writes: "Walked fifteen
miles. Dined at Mr. Merry's by
Mrs. Merry's invitation. She came twice
to invite me. Presented me
with 'Darwin.'" There are frequent
references in his diary after that
date to the British minister and Mrs.
Merry, and their common interest
in botany.
Sunday, February 17, 1805, he described
the religious services
which were held each Sabbath in the Hall
of Representatives, where
"two pieces of Psalmody were
performed by the band of the Marine
Corps in uniform; about 80 or 100."
So that it would seem that more than a
hundred years ago the
Marine Band was even larger than it is
now.