[77] _Political Miscellany_, New York, 1793, pp. 27–31. [78] _Tree of Liberty_, March 13, 1802. [79] _Tree of Liberty_, September 19, 1801. [80] _Pittsburgh Gazette_, October 26, 1799. [81] WILLIAM C. ARMOR. _Lives of the Governors of Pennsylvania_, Philadelphia, 1873, p. 289. [82] NEVILLE B. CRAIG. _The Olden Time_, Pittsburgh, 1848, vol. ii., p. 355. [83] H. M. BRACKENRIDGE. _Recollections of Persons and Places in the West_, Philadelphia, 1868, p. 68; _Pittsburgh Gazette_, December 29, 1798. CHAPTER IV LIFE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY The _Pittsburgh Gazette_ was devoted to the interests of the Federal party, and Brackenridge and the other leading Republicans felt the need of a newspaper of their own. The result was the establishment on August 16, 1800, of the _Tree of Liberty_, by John Israel, who was already publishing a newspaper, called the _Herald of Liberty_, in Washington, Pennsylvania. The title of the new paper was intended to typify its high mission. The significance of the name was further indicated in the conspicuously displayed motto, “And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” The Federalists, and more especially their organ, the _Pittsburgh Gazette_,[84] charged Brackenridge with being the owner of the new paper, and with being responsible for its utterances. Brackenridge, however, has left a letter in which he refuted this statement, and alleged that originally he intended to establish a newspaper, but on hearing of Israel’s intention gave up the idea.[85] The extent of the comforts and luxuries enjoyed in Pittsburgh was surprising. The houses, whether built of logs, or frame, or brick, were comfortable, even in winter. In the kitchens were large open fire-places, where wood was burned. The best coal fuel was plentiful. Although stoves were invented barely half a century earlier, and were in general use only in the larger cities, the houses in Pittsburgh could already boast of many. There were cannon stoves, so called because of their upright cylindrical, cannon-like shape, and Franklin or open stoves, invented by Benjamin Franklin; the latter graced the parlor. Grates were giving out their cheerful blaze. They were also in use in some of the rooms of the new court house, and in the new jail.