"One of the sights to stare at in America is that of houses moving from
place to place. We were often amused by watching this exhibition of
mechanical skill in the streets. They make no difficulty of moving
dwellings from one part of the town to another. Those I saw travelling
were all of them frame-houses, that is, built wholly of wood, except the
chimneys; but it is said that brick buildings are sometimes treated in the
same manner. The largest dwelling that I saw in motion was one containing
two stories of four rooms each; forty oxen were yoked to it. The first few
yards brought down the two stacks of chimneys, but it afterwards went on
well. The great difficulties were the first getting it in motion and the
stopping exactly in the right place. This locomotive power was extremely
convenient at Cincinnati, as the constant improvements going on there made
it often desirable to change a wooden dwelling for one of brick; and
whenever this happened, we were sure to see the ex No. 100 of Main-street
or the ex No.
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