Part 12 (1/2)
Several large alligators were seen basking on the sh.o.r.es, and others were swimming along the river. After having pursued his course for several miles, and made many important botanical discoveries, Mr.
Bartram returned to _Mobile_, for the purpose of proceeding thence, in a trading-vessel, westward, to the Pearl river.
Previously, however, to setting out on his voyage westward, he had an opportunity of visiting _Pensacola_, the capital of West Florida, about a hundred miles east of Mobile. This city possesses some natural advantages, superior to those of any other port in this province. It is situated on a gently rising ground, environing a harbour, sufficiently capacious to shelter all the navies of Europe. Several rivers fall into this _harbour_; but none of them are navigable for s.h.i.+ps of burden, to any considerable distance. In Pensacola there are several hundred habitations. The governor's palace is a large brick building, ornamented with a tower. The town is defended by a fortress, within which is the council-chamber, houses for the officers, and barracks for the soldiers of the garrison. On the sand-hills, near this place, Mr. Bartram discovered several species of plants, which at that time had not been described.
Having again returned to Mobile, he left that place, in a trading-boat, the property of a Frenchman, who was about to sail to his plantations, on the banks of the Pearl river. Before Mr. Bartram set out on this expedition, he had been attacked by a severe complaint in his eyes, which occasioned extreme pain, and almost deprived him of sight: it did not, however, deter him from proceeding. On his arrival at _Pearl river_, he was, however, so ill, as to be laid up, for several weeks, at the house of an English gentleman, who resided on an island in that river. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered to prosecute his journey, he proceeded, in a boat, to Manchac on the Mississippi.
Having sailed westward for some days, he entered the _river Amite_, and, ascending it, arrived at a landing-place, from which he crossed, by land, to _Manchac_, about nine miles distant. The road was straight, s.p.a.cious, and level, and extended beneath the shadow of a grand forest.
On arriving at the banks of the _Mississippi_, Mr. Bartram stood, for some time, fascinated by the magnificence of this grand river. Its width was nearly a mile, and its depth at least two hundred and forty feet.
But it is not merely the expansion of its surface which astonishes and delights: its lofty banks, the steady course of its mighty flood, the trees which overhang its waters, the magnificent forests by which it is bounded; all combine in exhibiting prospects the most sublime that can be imagined. At Manchac, the banks are at least fifty feet in perpendicular height.
After having continued in this place a short time, Mr. Bartram made an excursion several miles up the Mississippi. At his return, he once more set sail for _Mobile_, where, not long afterwards, he safely arrived.
On the 27th of November, he sailed up the river, from Mobile, in a large trading-boat, and the same evening arrived at _Taensa_. Here the merchandise, which the boat had conveyed, was formed into small packages, and placed on horses, for the purpose of being conveyed overland. The party now consisted of between twenty and thirty horses, two drivers, the owner of the goods, and Mr. Bartram; who found this mode of travelling very unpleasant. They seldom set out till the sun had been some hours risen. Each of the men had a whip, made of cow-skin; and, the horses having ranged themselves in a line, the chief drove them by the crack of his whip, and by a whoop or shriek, so loud as to ring through the forests and plains. The pace was a brisk trot, which was incessantly urged, and continued as long as the miserable creatures were able to move forward. Each horse had a bell; and the incessant clattering of the bells, smacking of the whips, and whooping of the men, caused an uproar and confusion which was inexpressibly disagreeable. The time for encamping was generally about the middle of the afternoon; a time which, to Mr. Bartram, would have been the pleasantest for travelling.
After having proceeded on their journey several days, they came to the banks of a large and deep river, a branch of the _Alabama_. The waters ran furiously, being overcharged with the floods of a violent rain, which had fallen the day before. There was no possibility of crossing this river by fording it. With considerable difficulty, a kind of raft was made, of dry canes and pieces of timber, bound together by a species of vines or vegetable cords, which are common in the woods of the tropical districts of America. When this raft was completed, one of the Indians swam over the river, having in his mouth the end of a long vine attached to it; and, by hauling the raft backward and forward, all the goods were safely landed on the opposite side: the men and horses swam across.
In the evening of the day on which they pa.s.sed this stream, the party arrived at the banks of the great _Tallapoose river_; and encamped, for the night, under the shelter of some Indian cabins. On the ensuing day they were conducted across the river, in the canoes of a party of Indians who were resident in the neighbourhood. Not long afterwards, the travellers arrived at the Indian town of _Alabama_, situated near the junction of two fine rivers, the _Tallapoose_ and the _Coosa_. At this place were seen the traces of an ancient French fortress, with a few pieces of cannon, half-buried in the earth. This, says Mr. Bartram, is perhaps one of the most eligible situations in the world for a large town: it is a level plain, at the conflux of two majestic rivers, each navigable for vessels, to the distance of at least five hundred miles above it, and spreading their numerous branches over a great extent of fertile and delightful country.
The travellers continued all night at Alabama, where a grand entertainment was made for them, with music and dancing, in the great square. They then proceeded along the Tallapoose to _Muccla.s.se_. In their journey they pa.s.sed through numerous plantations and Indian towns, and were every where treated by the inhabitants with hospitality and friends.h.i.+p.
About three weeks after this, Mr. Bartram joined a company of traders, and proceeded with them to Augusta. They set out in the morning of the 2d of January, 1788, the whole surface of the ground being covered with a white and beautifully sparkling frost. The company, besides Mr.
Bartram, consisted of four men, with about thirty horses, twenty of which were laden with leather and furs. In three days they arrived at the _Apalachula_ or _Chata Uche_ river, and crossed it at the towns of _Chehau_ and _Usseta_. These towns nearly join each other, yet the inhabitants speak different languages. Beyond this river nothing of importance occurred, till they arrived at _Oakmulge_. Here they encamped in expansive, ancient Indian fields, and within view of the foaming flood of the river, which now raged over its banks. There were, at this place, two companies of traders from Augusta, each consisting of fifteen or twenty men, with seventy or eighty horses. The traders whom Mr. Bartram accompanied, had with them a portable leather boat, eight feet long. It was made of thick sole-leather, was folded up, and carried on one of the horses. This boat was now put together, and rigged; and in it the party was ferried across the river. They afterwards crossed the _Ocone_, in the same manner; and encamped in fertile fields on the banks of that beautiful river. Proceeding thence, they encamped, the next day, on the banks of the _Ogeche_; and, after two days hard travelling, beyond this river, they arrived at _Augusta_, whence, shortly afterwards, Mr. Bartram proceeded to _Savannah_.
Thirteenth Day's Instruction.
UNITED STATES CONTINUED.
_Narrative of_ MR. BARTRAM'S _Journey from Savannah into East Florida._
Leaving _Savannah_ at the most beautiful season of the year, Mr. Bartram proceeded, on horseback, to _Sunbury_, a sea-port, about forty miles distant; and thence to Fort Barrington. Much of the intervening country was level, and well watered by large streams. The road was straight, s.p.a.cious, and in excellent repair. For a considerable distance it was bordered on each side by groves, of various kinds of trees and shrubs, entwined with bands and garlands of flowering-plants. Extensive plantations of rice and corn, now in early verdure, were seen, decorated, here and there, with groves of floriferous and fragrant trees and shrubs, through which, at intervals, appeared the neat habitations of the proprietors.
At Fort Barrington, Mr. Bartram crossed the river Alatamaha, here about five hundred yards in width. When safely landed on the opposite side, he mounted his horse, and followed the high road, through an uninhabited wilderness, to the ferry on _St. Ille_. The sudden transition, from rich cultivated settlements, to high pine-forests, and dark gra.s.sy savannas, formed, he says, no disagreeable contrast; and the new objects, in the works of nature, which here excited his attention, soon reconciled him to the change. In the midst of the woods he observed great numbers of dens, or caverns, which had been dug in the sand-hills, by the gopher, or great land tortoise.
The next day's progress, presented scenes nearly similar to these; though the land was lower, more level and humid, and the produce was more varied. Mr. Bartram pa.s.sed some troublesome cane-swamps, in which he saw several herds of horned-cattle, horses, and deer, and noticed many interesting plants.
In the evening, he arrived at _St. Ille's_, where he lodged; and, next morning, having crossed the river in a ferry-boat, he proceeded towards St. Mary's. The appearance of the country, its soil, and productions, between these rivers, were nearly similar to those which he had already pa.s.sed, except that the savannas were more frequent and extensive.
Mr. Bartram had now pa.s.sed the utmost frontier of the white settlements, on that border; and the day was drawing towards a close, when, on a sudden, an Indian, armed with a rifle, crossed the path, at a considerable distance before him. This man, turning short round, came up at full gallop. Though his intentions, at first, seemed hostile, he, after some hesitation, shook Mr. Bartram by the hand, directed him on his way, and then proceeded in his former course. Mr. Bartram again set forward, and, after riding eight or ten miles, arrived at the banks of _St. Mary's_, opposite to the stores, and got safely over that river, before dark.
The savannas about St. Mary's displayed a very charming appearance, of flowers and verdure: their more elevated borders were varied with beds of violets, lupines, and amaryllis; and with a new and beautiful species of sensitive plant.
In a subsequent excursion, Mr. Bartram, accompanied by some other gentlemen, pa.s.sed the mouth of St. Mary's, and entered the _river St.
Juan_, or _St. John_.
At _Cowford_, a public ferry over this river, and about thirty miles from its mouth, he procured a neat little sail-boat; and, having stored it with necessaries for his voyage, he proceeded up the river alone, in search of new productions of nature; having his chief happiness centered in tracing and admiring the infinite power, majesty, and perfection of the great Creator, and in the contemplation that, through divine permission, he might be instrumental in introducing into his native country, some productions which might become useful to society. His little vessel, being furnished with a good sail, and with fis.h.i.+ng-tackle, a swivel gun, powder, and ball, Mr. Bartram found himself well equipped for his voyage, of about one hundred miles, to the trading houses of the Indians.
Having proceeded about eight miles above Cowford, to a place where the river was nearly three miles broad, he was obliged to land, as his boat had sustained some damage from the wind; and, a thunder-storm coming on, he resolved to continue on sh.o.r.e till the morning. Observing a large oak-tree, which had been thrown down by a hurricane, and which offered him a convenient shelter, as its branches bore up the trunk a sufficient height from the earth, to admit him either to, sit or to lie down beneath it, he spread his sail, slanting from the trunk of the tree to the ground, on the windward side; and, having collected a quant.i.ty of wood sufficient to keep up a fire during the night, he kindled one in front. He then spread skins on the ground, and upon these he placed a blanket, one half of which he lay down upon, and the other he turned over him for a covering.
The wind was furious, and the thunder and lightning were tremendous; but, happily, not much-rain fell. Next morning, on reconnoitring the neighbourhood, he was roused by the report of a musket not far off; and, shortly afterwards, an Indian stepped out of a thicket, having a large turkey-c.o.c.k slung across his shoulders. He saw Mr. Bartram, and, stepping up to him, spoke in English, bidding him good morning. He stated that he lived at an adjacent plantation, and that he was employed as a hunter. Mr. Bartram accompanied him to the house of his master, about half a mile distant, and was there received in the most polite and friendly manner imaginable. The owner of this plantation invited him to stay some days, for the purpose of resting and refres.h.i.+ng himself; and he immediately set his carpenters to work, to repair the damaged vessel.