Part 11 (1/2)

It extends nearly three quarters of a mile in length; and opposite to it is a beautiful walk, planted with a double row of trees. Similar trees are planted in other parts of the town. This agreeable promenade is near the margin of the height, upon which the town stands; and the merchants'

stores, warehouses, and wharfs, for the landing, housing, and s.h.i.+pping of goods, are immediately below. From the height there is a fine view of the Savannah river, as far as the sea; and, in a contrary direction, to the distance of several miles above the town.

About the centre of the walk, and just on the verge of the cliff, stands the Exchange, a large brick building, which contains some public offices; and an a.s.sembly-room, where a concert and ball are held every fortnight, during the winter.

The situation of Savannah, and the plan upon which it is laid out, if the town contained better houses, would render it far more agreeable, as a place of residence, than Charleston. Its greater elevation must also be more conducive to the health of the inhabitants, than the low and flat site of the other city. Both, however, are in the neighbourhood of swamps, marshes, and thick woods, which engender diseases, injurious to the const.i.tution of white people. On the swamps, around Savannah, great quant.i.ties of rice are grown.

Twelfth Day's Instruction.

UNITED STATES CONTINUED.

_Narrative of an excursion from Charleston into Georgia and West Florida. From Travels in North America, by_ WILLIAM BARTRAM.

At the request of Dr. Fothergill, an eminent physician in London, Mr.

Bartram went to North America, for the purpose, chiefly, of collecting, in Florida, Carolina, and Georgia, some of the rare and useful productions which had been described, by preceding travellers, to abound in those states. He left England in the month of April, 1773, and continued abroad several years.

In 1776, he was at _Charleston_; and on the 22d of April, in that year, he set off on horseback, intending to make an excursion into the country of the Cherokee Indians. He directed his course towards Augusta, a town on the Savannah river.

During his first day's journey he observed a large orchard of mulberry-trees, which were cultivated for the feeding of silkworms. The notes of the mocking-bird enlivened all the woods. He crossed into Georgia, by a ferry over the Savannah; and he thence pa.s.sed through a range of pine-forests and swamps, about twelve miles in extent. Beyond these, in a forest, on the border of a swamp, and near the river, he reached a cow-pen, the proprietor of which possessed about fifteen hundred head of cattle. He was a man of amiable manners, and treated Mr.

Bartram with great hospitality. The chief profits made by this person were obtained from beef, which he sent, by the river, for the supply of distant markets.

About one hundred miles beyond this place is _Augusta_, in one of the most delightful and most eligible situations imaginable. It stands on an extensive plain, near the banks of the river Savannah, which is here navigable for vessels of twenty or thirty tons burden. Augusta, thus seated near the head of an important navigation, commands the trade and commerce of the vast and fertile regions above it; and, from every side, to a great distance. [Since Mr. Bartram was here, this place has become the metropolis of Georgia.]

Below Augusta, and on the Georgia side of the river, the road crosses a ridge of high swelling hills, of uncommon elevation, and sixty or seventy feet higher than the surface of the river. These hills, from three feet below the common vegetative surface, to the depth of twenty or thirty feet, are entirely composed of fossil oyster-sh.e.l.ls, which, internally, are of the colour and consistency of white marble. The sh.e.l.ls are of immense magnitude; generally fifteen or twenty inches in length, from six to eight wide, and from two to four inches in thickness; and their hollows are sufficiently deep to receive a man's foot.

From Augusta, Mr. Bartram proceeded to Fort James. For thirty miles the road led him near the banks of the Savannah. The surface of the land was uneven, in ridges or chains of swelling hills, and corresponding vales, with level downs. The latter afforded gra.s.s and various herbage; and the vales and hills produced forest-trees and shrubs of several kinds. In the rich and humid lands, which bordered the creeks and bases of the hills, Mr. Bartram discovered many species of plants which were entirely new to him.

_Fort James_ enclosed about an acre of ground, and contained barracks for soldiers, and a house for the governor or commandant. It was situated at the extreme point of a promontory, formed by the junction of the _Broad_ and _Savannah rivers_; and, at the distance of two miles, there was a place laid out for the construction of a town, which was to have the name of _Dartmouth_.

The surgeon of the garrison conducted Mr. Bartram, about five miles from the fort, to a spot where he showed him some remarkable Indian monuments. These were on a plain, about thirty yards from the river, and they consisted of conical mounds of earth, with square terraces. The princ.i.p.al mount was in the form of a cone, forty or fifty feet high, and two or three hundred yards in circ.u.mference at the base. It was flat at the top; a spiral track, leading from the ground to the summit, was still visible; and it was surmounted by a large and spreading cedar-tree. On the sides of the hill, facing the four cardinal points, were niches or centry-boxes, all entered from the winding path. The design of these structures Mr. Bartram was unable to ascertain. The adjacent grounds had been cleared, and were at this time planted with Indian corn.

On the 10th of May, Mr. Bartram set out from Fort James. He rode six or eight miles along the bank of the river, and then crossed it into South Carolina. The road led him over a country, the surface of which was undulated by ridges or chains of hills, and sometimes rough with rocks and stones; yet generally productive of forests, and of a great variety of curious and interesting plants.

The season was unusually wet: showers of rain fell almost daily, and were frequently attended with thunder. Hence travelling was rendered disagreeable, toilsome, and hazardous; particularly in the country through which he had to pa.s.s; an uninhabited wilderness, abounding in rivers and brooks.

During his progress, Mr. Bartram was kindly received into the houses of such planters as lived near the road. In his journey betwixt Fort James and the Cherokee town of _Sinica_, he observed an abundance of grape-vines, which ramble and spread themselves over the shrubs and low trees. The grapes, when ripe, are of various colours, and yield excellent juice.

_Sinica_ is a respectable Cherokee settlement, on the east bank of the _Keowe river_; but the greatest number of Indian habitations are on the opposite sh.o.r.e, where also stands the council-house, in a plain, betwixt the river and a range of lofty hills, which rise magnificently, and seem to bend over the green plains and the river. Sinica had not, at this time, been long built. The number of inhabitants was estimated at about five hundred, among whom about a hundred warriors could be mustered.

From Sinica Mr. Bartram went to another Indian town, about sixteen miles distant, called _Keowe_. It stood in a fertile vale, which was now enamelled with scarlet strawberries and blooming plants, of innumerable kinds, through the midst of which the river meandered, in a most pleasing manner. The adjacent heights were so formed and disposed, that, with little, expence of military architecture, they might have been rendered almost una.s.sailable. In the vicinity of Keowe, Mr. Bartram saw several ancient Indian mounts or tumuli, and terraces.

On leaving this place he crossed the river at a ford, and, soon afterwards, began to ascend the steep ridges on the west side of the valley. The prospects of the surrounding country here presented to his view, were, in many instances, peculiarly beautiful. Having reached the summits of the mountains, he afterwards pa.s.sed through a series of magnificent forests, and then approached an ample meadow, bordered with a high circular amphitheatre of hills, the ridges of which rose magnificently one above another. After this the surface of the land was level, and, in some places exhibited views of grand forests, and dark, detached groves, and in others of fertile vales and meadows.

After having crossed a delightful river, a main branch of the _Tugilo_, Mr. Bartram pa.s.sed through a mountainous country. Here, being overtaken by a tremendous hurricane, accompanied with torrents of rain, and the most awful thunder imaginable, in the midst of a solitary wilderness, he was glad to obtain shelter in a forsaken Indian dwelling. In this he lighted a fire, dried his clothes, comforted himself with a frugal repast of biscuit and dried beef, and afterwards pa.s.sed the night.

At some distance beyond this cottage, were the ruins of an Indian town called _Sticoe_. At this place was a vast Indian mount or tumulus, with a great terrace. Here also were old peach and plum-orchards, some of the trees of which still appeared to be thriving and fruitful. From Sticoe, proceeding along a vale, and crossing a delightful brook, which falls into the Tenessee, Mr. Bartram followed its course nearly as far as _Cowe_, an Indian town which stands in a valley on the bank of one of the branches of the _river Tenessee_. He had letters of introduction to a gentleman resident in this place, who had, for many years, been a trader with the Indians, and who was noted for his humanity, his probity, and his equitable dealings with them. By this gentleman he was received with every demonstration of hospitality and friends.h.i.+p.

After having staid two days at Cowe, and, in the mean time, having made some excursions to places in its vicinity, Mr. Bartram proceeded on his journey, and was accompanied, about fifteen miles, by his hospitable friend, the trader. After this gentleman had left him, he was in the midst of solitude, surrounded by dreary and trackless mountains; and, for some time, he was unable to erase from his mind a notion that his present situation in some degree resembled that of Nebuchadnezzar, when expelled from the society of men, and constrained to roam in the wilderness, there to herd and to feed with the beasts of the forest. He, however, proceeded with all the alacrity which prudence would permit.

His present object was, at all events, to cross the Jore Mountains, said to be the highest land in the Cherokee country. These he soon afterwards began to ascend; and, at length, he accomplished one part of his arduous task. From the most elevated peak of these mountains, he beheld, with rapture and astonishment, a sublimely awful scene of magnificence, a world of mountains piled upon mountains.

On the ensuing day, still proceeding in his journey westward, Mr.

Bartram, on descending from the heights, observed a company of Indians on horseback. They rapidly approached him; and, under an impression that one of them, who was at the head of the troop, was the emperor or grand chief of the Cherokees, Mr. Bartram turned out of the path in token of respect. In this supposition he was correct, and the compliment was accepted, for the chief, with a cheerful smile, came up to him, and placing his hand on his breast, then offered it to Mr. Bartram, and heartily shook hands with him. The chief made enquiry respecting a gentleman of Charleston, with whom he was acquainted, and afterwards welcomed Mr. Bartram into his country, as a friend and brother. Being, at this time, on a journey to Charleston, he shook hands with Mr.