Chapter III: Part 3

At this season Charleston is dull to a proverb; most of the planters, with their families, being in the country, and the rest preparing to follow; the city is, therefore, nearly abandoned to the cotton-shippers; and so it will remain until the month of February, when the race-meeting draws the whole State together; and, for a period of four or five weeks, few places, as I learn, can be more lively or more sociable. After this date, the country families once more return to their plantations, where they can remain with safety until about the second week in April: after which date the choice between country and city may be summed up in the words of Shakspeare, to "go and live, or stay and die;" since to stay is assuredly to die, after once the malaria is fairly in movement. Formerly, the winter campaign used to be prolonged until the middle of June; but of late years the time has been, from some cause or other, gradually abridged by common consent, until now the 15th of April is considered the last day of security.

The forest rides leading on either hand from the main road to the Cooper and Ashley rivers by which the sandy neck the city occupies is flanked, are, though flat, very delightful. Plants and flowers of rare beauty and in great variety abound here; the wild vine and other climbing plants are drawn from tree to tree; and the live-oak, sycamore, hickory, with the loftiest pines, altogether form avenues down which the eyes of a stranger wander with delight, and in which on these delicious calm days it is a joy to linger. My rides were sometimes solitary; and it was on these occasions I most enjoyed these forest paths, now as healthful as beautiful; yet, let only a few months pass away, and to sleep one night within their shade would be death as certain as though it were spent beneath the boughs of the poisonous Upas.

I could hardly conceive the possibility of such a baneful change, as, on a bright day of December, I sauntered carelessly along, watching the sun dancing in long lines of light over the smooth water, and an atmosphere before me glowing, as though a veil of gold tissue had been drawn above the forest. Yet so it is; the overseers alone remain upon the plantation after sunset, and amongst these the numerous deaths, as well as the cadaverous hue of the survivors, afford unquestionable testimony of the peril incurred by such a residence.

To the negro alone this air appears congenial, as the lively look of the chubby little imps that fill every cabin fully indicates. It is impossible not to be struck by the contrast between the looks of these children of the sun and the degenerate offsets of northern men; I have often observed with feelings of sorrow the sickly aspect of the children of some road-side store-keeper, or publican of the white race, as they sit languidly before their parents' door, with sallow parchment skins and lack-lustre eyes, the very emblems of malaria, possessing neither the strength nor the desire to follow those active sports natural and in fact necessary, at their age: whilst, sporting about or near them, might be observed the offspring of their slaves; the elder ones, with hardly any covering, pursuing each other, shouting and grinning from ear to ear; the youngsters, quite naked perhaps, rolling on the kitchen floor, or creeping about in the dust like so many black beetles, almost as broad as long. Despite their degraded condition, I have at such times been tempted to exclaim, "Surely this must here be the most enviable lot!"

This picture, however, must not be applied to the wealthy portion of the landed proprietors, who either migrate north with each season, or else seek the shelter of the dry sandy soil of the Pine-barrens, and on their heights breathe health and life; whilst below and around, at no great distance, stalk disease and death.

Amongst this class, on the contrary, I have often been surprised to find children whose elastic forms and ruddy complexions would have been noticeable even in the health-giving air of Britain; and indeed, taken as a whole, I should say that the population of Charleston City, the capital of this deadly country, wears as fresh a look, and presents as many hale, hearty old persons, as any of the northern cities of this continent. I was, perchance, the more struck with this fact from having expected the very reverse.

An air of greater antiquity prevails throughout this city than may be discovered in any other I have visited in the States; I should conceive it to be just in the condition the English army left it; I did not see a large house that appeared of newer date; and the churches, guard-house, &c. must be the same.

This population apparently has slept whilst their persevering brethren of the North, to use one of their familiar sayings, have "continually gone ahead" with an energy of purpose admirable as irresistible. This difference can, I fancy, be accounted for in two ways: first, much may be fairly set down to climate, which limits the business months here to about six; next, the revolution found here a sort of aristocratic association of wealthy proprietors, the produce of whose estates furnished them with ample means, but whose business habits were limited to periodical settlements with their factors or brokers. The revolution, and the changes consequent upon it, awoke the spirit and incited the hope of every man to whom the absence of inherited wealth supplied an impetus to labour; and the populated portions of these States became as a hive thronged with an active, money-seeking swarm, by which the idle and the inert were thrust aside before they became awake to their changed condition, or heard a murmur of the tide whose waves were encircling them about on every side.

The law of primogeniture having ceased to exist, estates became subject to division and subdivision, until the growing families of the original proprietors found themselves unable to continue planters with any prospect of advantage. In such cases the property was sold, and the proceeds divided according to law, or in conformity to the will of the testator, and so passed into strange hands; whilst with straitened means the members of the family of the once wealthy planter removed to some city, and here clung to their original habits and prejudices; nor, except in a few instances, ever turned their thoughts to trade, at once the source and secret of their changed condition; and into the hands of whose active agents, in fact, had passed the home and the inheritance of their fathers.

Comparatively few of the old families now remain who are wealthy; but happily these have mostly become aware of the effects certain to follow the existing state of society and laws, as well as of the necessity of providing their children with the means of warding off their worst consequences. Now, therefore, the sons of the best men of the South are wisely placed in counting-houses in the great trading cities; or, however good their prospects may be, are bred up to some useful calling, which in this country will, if pursued with industry, ensure decent competence if not always wealth.

The condition of numbers of men, among those of the South who have never been trained to this laudable course, is at this day one that excites great commiseration. How many fine intelligent-looking young fellows may be observed lounging about in the most hopeless idleness, easily to be distinguished for the sons of gentlemen, wearing in a half slovenly way, but with a flashy air, expensive clothes and ill-assorted articles of finery, without possessing either means or energy to cultivate those manly dissipations which in some sort redeem the idleness of our European youth, and at certain seasons withdraw them from mere pursuits of sensuality; making that at least graceful, if not useful to the community, which here becomes truly hideous, as the reckless air and wasted features of most of these unfortunate hereditary idlers sufficiently attest.

I do not anywhere know a class more to be pitied in a country, wherein the idle man finds neither sympathies, pursuits, nor associates, from which he can derive emulation, improvement, or even amusement worthy a rational being; it is, let me add, an exceedingly small class, and of necessity must, I conceive, decrease rapidly; at present its members ought to be regarded by parents as moral landmarks, living to warn the wise and worthy from that course on which their hopes have foundered.

The young ladies appear possessed of the same _naive_, simple, yet perfectly easy manners which characterise their countrywomen of the North, where indeed they are principally educated and instructed in all those graceful accomplishments which embellish and refine our life. It appears upon a first view strange that, superior as they are, they do not exercise a greater influence over the youth of the other sex; but this may be ascribed to the fact, that they are brought out before either their judgment or knowledge of the world are sufficiently matured to make them aware of the existence of certain abuses, or of their own power of reforming them. Then again, marrying very young, they commonly quit society, in a great measure, at the moment the influence of their example might be of the greatest service to it.

A TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.

_Nov. 30th._--Just entered my room, after having been for the last hour engaged waiting for, and watching the progress of, one of those startling phenomena which in the earlier ages were wont to be hailed as especial manifestations of the Creator's anger,--whose influence has been known to stay the onset of engaging hosts, making men deaf to the sound of the trumpet, and dead to the yet more stirring influence of their own furious passions, when standing armed before the array of their enemies,--which have been known to scare the robber from his spoil, and join in renewed amity the hands of long hating brothers.

And even at this day, when natural causes have been assigned for the appearance of this wonder, and science has learned to anticipate the minute and the effect of its coming, still, what power does it exercise over the imagination of the mass! Few minds can watch the progress of such an event, natural though it be, untouched by awe, unelevated to that Being who is the cause of all; the hearts of the simple and the profound, of the sinner and of the saint, alike own the influence of the hour, and render up nature's involuntary homage to nature's God.

It had been already calculated that at Charleston and in its immediate vicinity this eclipse would be total; and, consequently, here were drawn together, from different points, several scientific men, astronomers and others, for the purpose of observing its progress.

Nothing could have chanced more happily for their object than the present state of the atmosphere. At meridian the sky was cloudless; the page of heaven lay open, fair, to all who could read therein: at the same time the thermometer stood at 75 degrees in the shade; but from this hour until two P.M., when the obscuration was complete, continued gradually to fall, remaining stationary at 50 degrees.

As the great luminary became slowly covered, the shadows kept deepening, until, at last, day was exchanged for the sober effect of moonlight: thin filmy clouds then became observable, slowly sailing beneath the diminished orb; one by one the stars came twinkling forth; the household poultry gathered uneasily together in the yard, and retired to their roosting-places; the hurrying tread of frequent passers gradually ceased; the buzz of the thousands of eager watchers died away; the voice of man was silent, or heard but in whispers, and the profoundest silence reigned throughout the city; till, at the moment when the interposition was complete, the bells of the different churches tolled out, adding a thrilling solemnity to the scene.

At this point of the eclipse the effect was grand beyond description: a well-defined, narrow circle, of the most brilliant crimson colour, surrounded for a few moments the darkened orb, which then seemed to diverge into a glorious halo composed of equal rays: but only for a minute was this clearly definable; the rays quickly faded from the side of the luminary once more given to view; and again a soft daylight, like the gradual spreading of a fine dawn, chased away the night shadows that had thus prematurely usurped day's fair dominion.

From every quarter was now heard the cheerful crowing of the "early cock;" the fowls came briskly forth, pluming themselves in the recovered sunshine; the tramp of numerous passers-by was again echoing from the street; and again the cheerful buzz of human voices filled the air.

This was the first time I had ever witnessed a total eclipse; and I confess I fully shared the general interest with which all about me appeared inspired. Upon the covered gallery fronting the south, the inmates of the hotel were all assembled; whilst, in the yard below, were congregated the servants and household slaves of the family, with upturned anxious faces, now watching the progress of the phenomenon, and now casting their eyes upon the group of white men, to gather from their looks the effect likely to follow this hiding of the sun, in whose presence the negro alone may be said to live.

Although the recovered luminary shone bright as before its obscuration, it was with diminished power, for it continued chilly during the rest of the day and night; nor was it before noon on the 1st of December that the mercury recovered from its sudden depression.

_Dec. 8th._--The President's message on the subject of the indemnity due from France to America was received in this city, where it appears to produce a startling effect: I should say, ten voices out of every eleven I have heard speak on the subject, deprecate any idea of a rupture with France. The merchants and travellers of that nation, of whom there are numbers here, appear somewhat indignant at the tone assumed by the chief of the government, which they affirm to be insulting to the nation, with which a Frenchman, in all places, whatever may be his political sentiments or present condition, never fails completely to identify himself. This respect for France is a gallant sentiment of theirs, and shows particularly well when they are far from the country whose honour they assert, standing a few amongst many.

_Dec. 9th._--I engaged a pilot-boat to run down the coast south as far as Savannah, which, although some hundred miles out of my line, I had set down as a place to be seen. My Charleston managers, two worthy industrious souls, hearing of my route, begged of me to permit them to take the pilot-boat off my hands for the transport of their company, on condition that I would halt in Savannah for three or four representations. To this I was readily moved by their strongly-expressed desire, and gave up my little schooner, becoming a passenger where I had looked to reign sole proprietor; the whole thing was arranged in the course of the day. The wind continued steadily about north-east and by the evening, the freight, composed of the paraphernalia, was shipped and stowed; the company assembled; and, after sundry holdings-on for some music-book forgotten in the orchestra, or some actor left at his lodging, we in about one hour after the time fixed by the pilot for the latest minute of tide, slipped the hawsers of the smart little Washington, and fell off into the stream of ebb.

When we got on the bar, it was almost low-water: the schooner drew eight feet abaft, and we had just nine feet soundings over the bank; we cleared all, however, after a minute of some anxiety, owing to there being a heavy northerly swell setting in, which appeared each moment to increase.

Once over the bar, we got nearly before the wind with a staggering breeze, and went along right merrily. Our representative of all the Juliets and Julias had a pretty voice; the Kemble of the company, a fine, tall, good-tempered fellow, sang duets and trios well enough for a tragedian; a chorus was easily mustered out of the remaining members of the corps who continued fit for duty; and we roused old Ocean with "When the wind blows," until he became too obstreperous in his emulation, and fairly drowned our melody.

The wind did blow, at last, in such a sort as to disperse our chorus; the schooner was about forty tons measurement, sharp as a wedge below, and not over three feet and a half between decks; the cabin was about the same square measurement, with two little berths, into which we stowed the ladies, the managers and the principals occupying the remaining space; in the hold, over the ballast, the rest of the company stowed themselves away.

To penetrate either of these close quarters I found utterly impossible: all were ill save the stout tragedian; comedy, farce, and opera, ballet and band, the manager, his subjects and his properties, were alike disorganized and overwhelmed. I resolved therefore on keeping the deck as I best could, by the help of a stout dread-nought, a pocket-full of cigars, and a mild infusion of old cognac, provided for me by a considerate friend.

Within two hours, the wind had gradually increased until it blew a gale: the foresail was taken in, the mainsail close-reefed, and the saucy boat flew along before it like a gull, the following seas just kissing the edge of her taffrail, as she slipped away before them.

Our pilot, the owner of the craft, was a careful and steady old Bristol-man, but somewhat nervous and timid: his regular crew consisted of two fine white boys, apprentices, and a couple of stout slaves: we had, in addition, taken on board an old apprentice of the pilot's, who as we started had volunteered to accompany his once master. This was a droll subject, a regular long-sided dare-devil of a South Carolinian: he was full three sheets in the wind when we sailed, and managed to keep the steam up by the contributions liberally proffered during our short season of festivity.

As the gale freshened this fellow showed out; when a sail was to be handed or a reef taken in, he was a crew in himself; one of the coolest and smartest fellows I ever met, but somewhat profane in his humour, and rather hard upon the nerves of the chief: few of his sayings will bear repetition; but the exaggeration of his figures of speech, the wild fantastic spirit of reckless humour by which he was governed, I shall not lose sight of; during the night I supplied him with cigars, and with his oddness wore away the time. One little bit of dialogue will describe this wild man of the water better than any words of mine. We had already taken in two reefs when the pilot gave directions "Stand by to lower away the peak."

"Ay, ay," sang out his _aide_, as he sprang nimbly to the foot of the mast; adding, "but what the devil are you going to do now, stranger?"

"Bear a hand!" cried the senior, "take in another reef!"

"What! you're afear'd little Wash-the-water goes through it too fast, are you, old man?"

"To be sure: I don't want to get off the bar before daylight."

"Don't you? Why then you must tie her fast to a stump, my friend; for if you let her go ahead, she'll make the light long afore you can see your way across the bar, between the white water."

"The wind between now and then may slack a little," urged the senior, looking back over the seas now rolling very high, as though he wished the time was come.

"Well, that's a cur'ous kind o' guess you've made, any way, old stranger," laughed his tormentor, clapping his foot against the companion, and taking the pull of a giant on the reef-tackle as he spoke. "If you ever know'd where to look for the fag-ind of a north-easter at this time o' year, it's more nor you ever larn'd me to do, and that I do say wasn't doin' your honest duty by me. I'd lay a pistreen this breeze would last the Washy, to the south'ard o' the Tortugas, and well you know it too."

"Well, suppose it would, I can't help it--what would _you do_, Matthew? It blows like thunder: I can't tell how fast she's going,--I don't want to over-shoot the light, and then have to thrash back through such a smother of a sea."

"Well, now I see what you're at; and it's all right, I guess," observed Matthew, with affected deference of tone. "I know the varmint's pretty slick, but I never should ha' thought of her crawling over ninety miles in four hours:"--it was at this time about midnight. "You ask me what I'd do; why now I'll tell you, if I was you, I'd say, Mat. here take the stick,--it wouldn't be the first time,--and I'd crawl out o' that hole and shake myself; and then I'd ask this gentleman for a cigar and a mouthful of liquor, and then I'd clap a bit o' the square mainsail on her, and lift the sloppy little slut out of it a yard or two; that's what I'd do: and now what have you to say agin it, he?"

"You have a square mainsail in the craft, I suppose?" here inquired I, by way of taking Matthew off the old man a little.

"Why, I don't know; maybe the old man has had it cut up to make trousers: but there used to be one when I was in her, and such an omni-po-tent tearer,--it had a hoist to heaven, it sheeted home to h--ll, outspread the eternal universe, and would ha' dragged a frigate seventeen knots through a sea o' treacle, by the living jingo! Why, I've seen it afore now raise the leetle hooker clean out o' water, and tail off, with her hanging on, like the boat to a balloon."

With the least possible sail we continued to slip along at a slapping rate, and long before daylight made the light at the entrance of the Savannah river: had our pilots known this bar as familiarly as they did that of Charleston, we might have run in; as it was, we hove-to in a very heavy sea for upwards of two hours, and the Washington behaved under these circumstances to admiration; she lay-to like a sea-bird, now floating buoyant upon the foamy crest of the great seas, then sliding down their sides into the trough where they would threaten to enclose her.

The senior pilot never quitted the little square hole sunk over the run, wherein he stood to steer, although sometimes, when she rolled to windward and made a dip, the green seas would make a rush over her quarter, and sweep the deck a foot deep; luckily there was nothing to hold the water; but for fourteen hours the old man's hand never left the tiller.

Soon after daylight we once more filled-away, and brought the little jewel of a boat snugly by-the-wind, hauling in for the bar, although not without some ugly doubts; for Matthew and the old man could not agree, and the sea all along in-shore looked plaguy white and ugly as we neared the low land: however, in we flew, having breakers on either hand, over near to be pleasant, and in a few minutes, entering the river close by the wreck of a large brig, were in comparative security.

Our counsel was even now divided about the true channel, until one of the boys, who had made a couple of trading trips up to the city, took it upon his own responsibility to read the buoys and landmarks as far as he knew them. Keeping the lead constantly going, we quietly jogged up the river with a stiff breeze; the country bleak and bare, a region of half-redeemed swamp and lagoon: being in smooth water, our party all turned out; stores were rummaged, and a good breakfast provided upon the deck of the boat so recently swept by the green seas: the past was forgotten, the sun shone out, and again the glee and merry song floated through the air of morning.

Matthew had by this become quite sober, and took his spell at the helm; admitting, evidently to his senior's satisfaction, that it certainly was "a real nullifier of a breeze, enough to blow the leetle Washy into pieces."

About six miles off the city, we got at last set fast; when, growing impatient of such close confinement, I requested the captain to set me on shore. The thing was voted impracticable; but I decided to make the attempt, and was accordingly rowed to the right bank of the river, when I took to the swamp, hungry and savage enough to have eaten any alligator fool-hardy enough to assail me. After a hard scramble, together with two or three plunges waist deep, I escaped suffocation, and gained one of the banks dividing and draining these vast fields: following this, unimpeded by other difficulty, I reached, after half an hour's march, the high land; and, attracted by the sounds of merriment, mounted the first bluff, where I found a large barn occupied by a couple of score laughing, noisy negroes employed thrashing out the crop: from one of these I received directions how to reach Savannah, whose spires were clearly to be seen.

At the end of about five miles, I found myself an exceeding dirty gentleman entering upon the long well-shaded mall which protects the river-front of the city. I was, by this, tolerably tired of my walk; for the light sandy soil was ankle-deep, and the sun broiling. After passing one block or range of counting-houses, I gladly read on the first of the next range the name of a friend from whom I felt certain of welcome.

A capital dinner, and a glass of the finest Madeira in the States, made light of past labour; and during the evening I was glad to learn that the Washington had arrived with her freight all safe and well. My friend Matthew now informed me he had given the boys in the boat directions to wait for me half an hour, which they did, fully anticipating that I should never clear the cane-brake and swamp lying between the river and the fields; and, in sooth, it required some perseverance.

SAVANNAH.

With this little city I was exceedingly pleased. The weather was remarkably mild, the sun shone brightly; and I took much pleasure in wandering along the quiet sandy streets, flanked by double rows of the Pride-of-India tree.

Except the range of buildings immediately facing the river, the dwellings are nearly all detached; each surrounded by its own offices, many by a garden filled with orange and other evergreens: they are mostly built on the true Southern plan, of two stories, with a broad gallery running entirely round; being of wood and painted white, with bright green _jalousies_, they give to the streets a gay and lively look, which is exceedingly cheerful and attractive.

Here are, however, several very ambitious-looking dwellings, built by a European architect for wealthy merchants during the palmy days of trade; these are of stone or some composition, showily designed, and very large, but ill-adapted, I should imagine, for summer residences in this climate. They are mostly deserted, or let for boarding-houses, and have that decayed look which is so melancholy, and which nowhere arrives sooner than in this climate.

Here is a very well designed and well-built theatre, but, like the houses I speak of, a good deal the worse in consequence of neglect: the materials and design were, I understood, all imported from England, at a prodigious cost when the smallness of the population is considered; but it is now, I fancy, rarely occupied.

On this occasion I had the pleasure of seeing it well filled for the four nights I acted, and had to regret my time was of necessity so limited, since my audience was as merry and intelligent as heart could wish.

My days were passed at the hospitable house of Mr. G----n, where I encountered many pleasant people; and was attended by the sleekest, merriest set of negroes imaginable, most of whom had grown old or were born in their master's house: his own good-humoured, active benevolence of spirit was reflected in the faces of his servants.

The trade of this port was at one period great; it offered at this time a cheerful prospect of well-lined quays, and I was glad to learn that the prospects of the community were again brightening; indeed, the high prices of produce this year are infusing additional life and spirit into the whole Southern community: the speculators in cotton are ardent, and the prices continually on the rise.

On the 15th, left this in a steamer called the George Washington, to proceed up the Savannah river to Augusta; a distance, by this route, of rather more than two hundred miles.

I got on board late at night, went immediately to bed, and, on coming on deck the next morning, found myself in the bosom of a dense forest, the trees growing as it were out of the very water, and all of them, with the exception of the gloomy cypress, still thickly covered with their gay autumnal foliage: numbers of the willow tribe were as fresh and green as in early springtime, at which season a sail up this river must be overpoweringly fragrant: even now, although offering little change of character for two hundred miles, it was not wholly devoid of interest; for it is constantly upon the wind, the longest reach limiting your view to a few hundred yards.

Our boat was small and very deeply laden, making hardly four miles an hour; but she had few passengers, was capitally provisioned, and possessed an indefatigable and most obliging commander, so that the tedium consequent upon such a progress had at least no nuisance superadded to make it more irksome.

Every few miles we brought up to take in a fresh supply of fuel; we were thus enabled constantly to stretch our legs in the forest; but throughout the whole distance so exactly similar were most of these landings that a light-hearted countryman of mine, whose company I was lucky enough to have, constantly used, on stopping, to say,

"I'd like to be sure we haven't gone back; and that this place is itself, and not the other."

We went ahead however, though but slowly; and after passing four nights and three days upon this miniature Mississippi,--for the characteristics are exactly similar, even to the owls and alligators,--we were safely landed at Augusta; perhaps, the most enterprising and most thriving community in Georgia.

By Mr. G----n's recommendation, I proceeded to the Planters' Hotel, kept by Judge Hales, a kind man and a worthy magistrate; and found that, in anticipation of my arrival, he had already secured me the earliest chance for a vacancy on the way-bill for Millidgeville.

Augusta consists of one very wide street, a couple of miles in length, and composed of a mixed description of building; many of the houses and stores being of wood, and exceedingly humble in appearance; others are built of brick, large, handsome, and well fitted up, in emulation of those in the northern cities; all, however, exhibited evidences of active and successful trade.

This was the high season for the arrival here of cotton from the plantations in the interior, whence it is forwarded by the railroad to Charleston, or down the river to Savannah. The streets were crowded with planters, and the suburbs with waggons either empty or laden; and these, together with their hardy drivers and assistants, who camp in all weathers amidst the forest, make a picture at once interesting in a commercial point of view, and in itself singularly striking.

As in the smallest American towns, I here met with an excellent bathing establishment; and found a hot bath, after being mewed up three days on board the steamer, a most joyous luxury.

The Planters' Hotel afforded an excellent dinner and a good bottle of sherry; and in the evening the mail-stage arrived, when to my great joy I was informed my place was safe, although there were many expectants necessarily left to abide the next stage. At this season of the year the current setting South is enormous: every stage from the North is laden; and, once thrown out, a man may have many days to wait before he gets a chance of proceeding.

_19th._--At six P.M. quitted Augusta, with nine other victims, in a stage otherwise laden with mail-bags and luggage. About an hour before we started rain set in, and the weather-wise prognosticate that the fine season is now at an end for this year. I certainly have no right to complain, but could desire the rain might yet be postponed for a few days. The roads were from the start as bad as could be, and the heavy fall was not likely to improve that part of our route which was to come.

We passed in the course of this night several camps of emigrants, on the move from the Carolinas and Georgia: they managed to keep their fires blazing in the forest, in spite of the falling shower; occasionally might be seen a huge pine crackling and burning throughout as it lay on the ground, whilst, ranged to windward, stood the waggons and huts of the campers.

The rich alluvial lands of Alabama, recently belonging to the Indian reserves, and now on sale by government or through land-speculators, are attracting thousands of families from the washed-out and impoverished soil of the older Southern States; and, during this and the preceding season, the numbers moving along this and the other great lines towards the South-west are incredible, when viewed in reference to the amount of population given to the countries whence the emigrants are chiefly derived.

At a season like the present, the sufferings of these families must be considerable. The caravan usually consists of from two to four tilt waggons, long and low-roofed; each laden, first with the needful provisions and such household gear as may be considered indispensable; next, over this portion of the freight is stowed the family of the emigrant planter, his wife, and commonly a round squad of white-haired children, with their attendants: on the march these vehicles are preceded and surrounded by the field slaves, varying in numbers from half a dozen to fifty or sixty, according to the wealth of the proprietor; a couple of mounted travellers commonly complete the cavalcade, which moves over these roads at the rate of twelve or fifteen miles a day. At night, or when the team gives out, or the waggons are fairly stalled, or set fast, the party prepares to camp: the men cut down a tree for fire, and with its branches make such rude huts as their time and ingenuity may best contrive; the females prepare the evening meal, and perform such domestic duties as may be needful. On these occasions I have frequently passed amongst or halted by them, and have been surprised at the air of content and good-humour commonly prevailing in their rude camps, despite of the apparent discomfort and privation to which they were exposed.

Many of the negroes, however, I am informed, are exceedingly averse to a removal from the sites on which they have been bred, and where their connexions are formed: in these cases, planters who are uncertain of the personal attachment of their slaves, generally dispose of them amongst their neighbours: when they are really attached to their owners, however, there is little difficulty experienced in their removal.

In most of the parties I encountered, I should say, judging fairly by their deportment and loud merriment, despite the great fatigue and constant exposure, the affair was taken in a sort of holiday spirit, no way warranted by their half-naked miserable appearance.

Thus they crawl onward from day to day, for weeks or months, until they have reached that portion of the forest, or cane-brake, fixed upon for the plantation: and here the enterprising settler has to encounter new toil, and a long series of privations, cheered however by the hope, seldom a delusive one, of ultimate wealth accumulating to the survivors of the party; for, unhappily, health is the sacrifice, I believe, generally paid for the possession of the fat soil lying along these sluggish rivers.

Along the whole line of our route from Augusta in Georgia to the banks of the Alabama, we found the road covered by parties of this description; and, according to the opinions of well-informed residents, with whom I conversed on this subject, not fewer than ten thousand families have quitted the two Carolinas and Georgia during the course of this season.

Amongst these families journeying to the land of promise, inspired by hopes for the future and cheered by the presence of those on whom they relied for their fulfilment, we now and then met little parties of broken-men retracing their sad steps toward the homes they had consigned to strangers: of these, one family, which we encountered camping near the banks of a swollen river whose bridge we were compelled to repair before we could cross it, excited deep commiseration. The establishment consisted of a single covered waggon, a small open cart, and half-a-dozen slaves, principally women: its conductress was a widow, not exceeding thirty years of age, having by her side five children, one an infant.

Within a year after the location of his family on the banks of the Black-warrior, her husband, we learned, had died; and the widow was thus far on her way back to Virginia, accompanied by such of her household as remained to her; this was the 22nd of December, and there yet remained five hundred miles of her journey unperformed. I know my heart was sore as I contemplated her forlorn condition, and thought upon the toilsome way yet dividing her from the changed home she sought.

Between Millidgeville and Macon the route became all but impassable: at each mile we anticipated a stand-still; the rain was incessant; the creeks were flooded, and the bridges in an indescribable condition. We were frequently compelled to alight and walk, being in momentary expectation of an overturn: and so we journeyed on, our numbers reduced to six, in order that a lighter vehicle might be adopted. The way in which this drafting was effected was on principles perfectly fair, and submitted to without a murmur: at Sparta, the agent informed us that only six passengers could be taken on; and that, unless we arranged otherwise, he should strike off the last three names entered in the way-bill, as being the juniors in this hard service: luckily for me, I had just the magic three under my name,--a piece of good fortune that rescued me from a sojourn at Sparta, which, with all due deference to its venerable name, I could not contemplate without a shudder.

Six hardier or better-humoured men, if I may venture to include myself in the number, never roughed it through Georgia in company. At one pass, through a swamp lying a few miles north of Macon, we were turned out, at a hut where large pieces of light-wood, as the pitch-pine is called, were procured for the party; from this point we were instructed to make a cut through the forest, whilst the lightened coach followed the road. We struck into the line pointed out, guided by one of the party who had journeyed this road before; and six merrier men, having less cause for mirth, might not have been found within this fair state.

After floundering along for an hour or so, we saw the torches of the stage, and heard the halloo of the driver: hence, without mischance, we reached Macon before daylight; and here one of our company knocked up through cold and over-weariness; a vacant place was thus afforded for the judge of the district-court, in whom we found a well-informed and most intelligent companion.

Nullification was the subject for the morning, and much was advanced _pro_ and _con._; its opponents being two New York men who had been my fellow-passengers from Augusta. On this occasion, as I have always observed amongst Southern men, the right of separation from the Union was vehemently insisted upon, even whilst the policy of such a movement was deprecated; the principle, in fact, of nullification was maintained by those who were against the practice of such an experiment.

The condition of justice upon these wild frontiers was next freely canvassed, and was on all hands admitted to be weak and short-armed enough: very few, in truth, seem in criminal cases to seek for or approve of its interference, except in some so monstrously atrocious that no sympathy can be felt for the criminal; and even in such cases his flight, if he condescends to such a movement, is a matter of small difficulty.

Most of the many murders committed are the result of quarrels or personal rancour. Jealousy of a favoured rival, a gambling or a political dispute ends in a defiance, mutual and deadly, the ever-ready dirk affords present means; or, if the interposition of the bystanders prevents this, one of the party shoots down the other on the road or at his own door; when, if the slain man has friends, the feud is adopted by them, and the first homicide is revenged by another, or several, as may be. These affrays are by convention termed duels; and, in fact, as on our borders a century back, each man rights with his own hand his wrongs "wherever given," in street or forest, in the court of justice or within the house of prayer.

In the mean time, notwithstanding all this, the frontiers flourish; trade yearly increases; and, as well as I can learn, civilization and security also slowly but steadily march onward; but, from the very nature of the country, it must be long before the wild spirits congregated here can be subjected to the wholesome rule of well-administered laws.

At Talboton we found six passengers, the freight of the stage preceding us, which had been upset in the swamp the night previous; one of them had a couple of ribs broken, and all were badly bruised. One young man begged to be taken on the seat of our coach, which was readily permitted, with cautions against his venturing on such an experiment. The additional mail-bags were also to be carried forward; and the largest were accordingly stowed into the coach, in the space usually considered by passengers as designed for their legs; complaint, however, was quite useless; those who did not like the conveyance being at full liberty to wait on any part of the road they might select, until one better adapted to comfort chanced to come by.

We quitted this place, six men, with just space enough left for us to crawl in, and we sat, bent almost double, with our legs stretched out before us. I consoled myself by concluding that we now had reached the extremity of our inconveniences; but I knew mighty little about the matter. It would have been impossible, for any length of time, to have borne the position we were now compressed into; but luckily this was not expected, since constant occasions were afforded us of stretching our legs, and getting cool under as heavy rain as the lover of a shower-bath could desire.

COLUMBUS.

At the hour of two A.M. we reached the city of Columbus, on the Chattahoochee, the river dividing Alabama from Georgia.

Here we halted for a day and a night; and this time I employed, in company with my two New York fellow-travellers, in paying a visit to the Choctaw tribe of Indians, who possess a reserve lying west of the river.

We procured three stout nags, and early in the morning crossed the very fine bridge which spans this rapid stream close to the falls. On the Alabama side we found ourselves within a wild-looking village, scattered through the edge of the forest, bearing the unattractive name of Sodom; few of its denizens were yet stirring; they are composed chiefly of "minions o' the moon," outlaws from the neighbouring States. Gamblers, and other desperate men, here find security from their numbers, and from the vicinity of a thinly inhabited Indian country, whose people hold them in terror, yet dare not refuse them a hiding-place. These bold outlaws, I was informed, occasionally assemble to enjoy an evening's frolic in Columbus, on which occasions they cross the dividing bridge in force, all armed to the teeth: the warrants in the hands of the U. S. Marshal are at such times necessarily suspended, since to execute a caption would require a muster greater than any within his command. If unmolested, the party usually proceed to the nearest hotel, drink deeply, make what purchases they require for the ladies of their colony, pay promptly, and, gathering the stragglers together, retire peaceably into the territory, wherein their present rule is by report absolute. The condition of this near community, and the crimes perpetrated by its members, were alluded to within the town with a mingled sentiment of detestation and fear.

A short way within the forest we overtook a man riding a rough pony, of whom I inquired the best route to be pursued for falling in with the Indian settlements; the man immediately volunteered to ride with us for a few hours; adding, that he saw we were strangers from the North; that he was "a Vermont man himself, and had nothing particular to do just then."

This was a lucky rencontre: the volunteer guide we thus secured appeared perfectly familiar with every turn of the numberless narrow footpaths leading from one location to another; and, under his guidance, we visited several.

The condition of the majority of these poor people seemed wretched in the extreme: most of the families were living in wigwams, built of bark or green boughs, of the frailest and least comfortable construction; not an article of furniture, except a kettle, was in the possession of this class. A few, however, were here who had erected log-houses, cleared a little land, and were also in the possession of a stove or two; we halted at a group of four of these little dwellings, where, under a shed, a fine negro wench was occupied frying bacon and making cakes of wheaten flour for her master's supper, who, she informed us, was absent on a hunting expedition. Within the log-huts sat the squaws of the party, all busily employed sewing beads on moccasins, or ornamenting deer-skin pouches, after the fashion of the dames of old in the absence of their true knights; our guide addressed these ladies roughly enough; but without eliciting any reply more encouraging than a sort of "Ugh! ugh!" unaccompanied by a single look. The negro girl, however, had not adopted the taciturnity of the tribe, but readily chatted with us, explaining, amongst other matters, the nature of the contents of the boiler, whose savoury smell greatly attracted our attention. She said it was composed of Indian corn, boiled a great deal and slowly, with only a little salt for seasoning; affirming, that the Indians preferred this simple dish to all other dainties. For myself, I gave a decided vote in favour of the fried rashers, and the nice little cakes baked in the ashes: of these we partook freely, at the solicitation of the good-humoured cook, who, with right Indian hospitality, assured us there was plenty more.

Returning, we encountered several members of this tribe who had been passing the day in Columbus; some were on foot, others riding, but all more or less elevated; a few of the women were good-looking, and, to their credit, all of them sober.

As we repassed Sodom, the sound of revelry proclaimed the orgies resumed. The rain, which had hitherto held up, once more began to descend with a determination of purpose that boded us no good: we spurred over the covered bridge, and were soon after housed again in Georgia.

At our hotel I encountered a gentleman who, a few weeks before, had been a fellow-passenger with me from New York to Charleston; but his advance had been less prosperous than mine: indeed, a brief relation of what he had endured sufficed to reconcile me to any little fatigue that fell to my lot. It appeared that, three weeks previous to this meeting of ours, he had quitted Columbus in a steamer going down to Appalachicola: they had proceeded some three hundred miles on their way, when, in the night, the passengers were roused from sleep by the alarm of "fire!" The boat was, in fact, a mass of flame by the time the first persons reached the deck. My informant, with many others, immediately jumped overboard: the steamer was run on the bank; and, with the exception of two persons drowned, the rest of her passengers and crew were landed in the forest; most of them with nothing in the shape of covering excepting their night-clothes. Luckily, there were only two ladies of the party; and their condition may be imagined, living for four days in the forest swamp without other than temporary huts for shelter, and in all other respects most scantily provided for, as the suddenness of the fire prevented any saving of stores or provisions.

At the end of four days the up-river steamer was hailed on its passing, and, getting on board of this, they were in a few days after landed where I found my informant waiting for the next boat. It appeared that the fire was attributed to a slave who had been the day before flogged for mutiny, and who, according to the evidence of his fellows, had threatened some such revenge.

During the afternoon I walked about this thriving frontier town, despite a smart shower: the stores were well supplied, the warehouses filled with cotton, and in all quarters were groups of the neighbouring planters busied in looking after the sale of their produce, and making such purchases as their families required.

Numerous parties of Indians,--Creeks and Choctaws,--roamed about from place to place, mostly drunk, or seeking to become so as quickly as possible: with each party of the natives I observed a negro-man, the slave of some one present, but commonly well dressed in the European manner, having an air of superior intelligence to his masters, and evidently exercising over them the power and influence derived from superior knowledge: the negroes, in fact, appeared the masters, and the red-men the slaves.

Along the river-front of the town, a situation wildly beautiful, I observed several dwellings of mansion-like proportions, and others of a similar character in progress. I should say, that nowhere in this South country have I yet seen a place which promises more of the prosperity increasing wealth can bestow than this; or one that, from all I learned, is more wanting in all that men usually consider most worth possessing,--personal security, reasonable comfort, and well-executed law. In place of these, affrays ending in blood are said to be frequent, apprehensions few, acquittal next to certain even in the event of trial, and the execution of a white man a thing unknown.

In the midst of all this, be it understood, I do not consider that a traveller runs the least risk; robbery, or murder for the sake of mere plunder, never occurs; and to a stranger the rudest of these frontier spirits are usually exceedingly civil; but idleness, hot blood, and frequent stimulants make gambling or politics ready subjects for quarrels, and, as the parties always go armed, an affray is commonly fatal to some of those concerned.

As the population steadily advances, these wild spirits melt away before it, some becoming good citizens, others clearing out before the onward march of civilization: their sway is therefore yearly decreasing in force within the States, their sphere becoming limited in proportion as persons interested in the support of law increase; already, each season, numbers seek freedom from restraint within the Mexican territory, where an infusion of such blood will be productive of strange events in Texas; and if this fine territory be not, within a very short period, rendered over-hot a berth for its Mexican proprietors, "coming events cast their shadows before" to very little purpose.

TRAVELLING THROUGH THE CREEK-NATION.

THE ALABAMA RIVER DOWN TO MOBILE.

A little before midnight, my two New York _compagnons du voyage_ and myself took our seats in the mail for Montgomery, on the Alabama river. We found ourselves the sole occupants of the vehicle, and were congratulating each other on the chance, when we heard directions given to the driver to halt at Sodom, for the purpose of taking up a gentleman and his lady,--_Anglice_, a gambler and his mistress.