Part 13 (1/2)
From Half-way Pond the travellers proceeded, still westward, through the high forests of Cuscowilla. The country, for five or six miles, presented nearly the same scenery as before. After this the sand-ridges became higher, and their bases proportionally more extensive. The savannahs and ponds were larger; the summits of the ridges more gravelly; and here and there rocks, formed of a sort of concrete of sand and sh.e.l.ls, were seen above the sand and gravel.
Having pa.s.sed an extensive and fruitful orange-grove, through a pine-forest, and crossed two or three streams that were tributary to the river St. John, the travellers at length came within sight of the great and beautiful _Lake of Cuscowilla_. Their course now lay through a magnificent forest, about nine miles in extent, and consisting of orange-groves, overtopped by grand magnolias, palm-trees, oaks, beech, and other trees. This forest bounded one edge of the lake; and, beyond it, lay the town of _Cuscowilla_, the place of their destination. This place is situated on the banks of a brook, which, at a little distance, falls into the lake.
They were welcomed to the town, and conducted, by a party of young men and maidens, to the house of the chief. This stood on an eminence, and was distinguished from the other dwellings by its superior magnitude, and by having a flag hoisted, on a high staff, at one corner. The chief, attended by several old men, came to them, and shook them by their hands, or rather their arms, (a form of salutation peculiar to the American Indians,) saying at the same time, ”You are come.” They followed him into an apartment prepared for their reception.
The following customs are practised towards their guests, by the Indians in this part of America. The pipe being filled, it is handed round to each. After this a large bowl, containing what is called ”thin drink,”
is brought, and is set down on a low table. In the bowl is a great wooden ladle: each person takes up in the ladle as much of the liquor as he pleases; and, after drinking until he is satisfied, he returns it into the bowl, pus.h.i.+ng the handle towards the next person in the circle; and so it goes round.
On the present occasion, after the usual compliments had pa.s.sed, the princ.i.p.al trader informed the Indian chief, in the presence of his council or attendants, respecting the purport of their business; and with this the chief expressed his satisfaction. When the latter was informed concerning the object of Mr. Bartram's journey, he received him with complaisance; giving him unlimited permission to travel over his country, for the purpose of collecting plants, and saluting him by the name of _Pug Puggy_, or ”Flower-hunter.”
This chief was a tall, well-formed man, very affable and cheerful, about sixty years of age. His eyes were lively and full of l.u.s.tre, his countenance was manly and placid, yet ferocious; his nose aquiline, and his dress extremely simple; but his head was ornamented in the manner of the Creek Indians. He had been a great warrior, and had now, attending him as slaves, many captives, which had been taken by himself when young. They were dressed better than he, and served and waited upon him with signs of the most abject humility. The manners and customs of these Indians, who are called _Alachuas_, and of most of the lower _Creeks_ or _Siminoles_, appear evidently tinctured with Spanish civilization. There are several Christians among them, many of whom wear little silver crucifixes, affixed to a collar round their necks, or suspended by a small chain upon their b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
Mr. Bartram and his party had not long been here, before the repast was brought in. This consisted of venison stewed in bear's oil, of fresh corn-cakes, milk, and a dish called h.o.m.ony; and the drink was honey and water, very cool and agreeable.
A few days after this some negotiations took place between the traders and the Indians, in the public square or council-house. These having terminated to the satisfaction of both parties, a banquet succeeded; the ribs and choicest fat pieces of bullocks, well barbecued, were brought into an apartment of the square: bowls and kettles of stewed flesh and broth const.i.tuted the next course; and with these was brought in a dish, made of the belly or paunch of an ox, not over-cleansed of its contents, cut and minced tolerably fine, and then made into a thin kind of soup, and seasoned with salt and aromatic herbs; but the seasoning was not quite strong enough to overpower the original taste and smell. This is a favourite dish with the Indians.
Cuscowilla is the capital of the Alachua Indians; and it, at this time, contained about thirty habitations, each of which consisted of two houses, nearly of the same size, about thirty feet in length, twelve feet wide, and twelve high. Of these, one is divided into two apartments; the cook-room, or common hall, and the lodging-room. The other house is nearly of the same dimensions, and stands about twenty yards from the dwelling-house. This building is two stories high, and is constructed in a different manner from the former. Like that, it is divided across; but the end next the dwelling-house is open on three sides, and is supported by posts or columns. It has an open loft or platform, the ascent to which is by a portable stair or ladder: this is pleasant, cool, and airy; and here the master or chief of the family retires to repose, in the hot seasons, and receives his guests or visitors. The other half of this building is closed on all sides: the lowest or ground part is a potatoe-house; and the upper story a granary, for corn and other provisions.
The town of Cuscowilla stands in an extremely pleasant situation, upon a high, swelling ridge of sand-hills, within three or four hundred yards of a large and beautiful lake, which continually washes a sandy beach, under a moderately high, sloping bank; terminated on one side by extensive forests of orange-groves, and overtopped with magnolias, palms, poplars, limes, live oaks, and other trees. The ground, between the town and the lake, is adorned by an open grove of tall pine-trees, which, standing at a considerable distance from each other, admit a delightful prospect of the sparkling waters. The lake abounds with various kinds of excellent fish and wild fowl.
The inhabitants of Cuscowilla have each a small garden attached to their dwellings, for the purpose of producing corn, beans, tobacco, and other useful articles; but the plantation which supplies them with their chief vegetable provisions, is near the great Alachua savannah, and about two miles distant. This plantation has one common enclosure, and is worked and tended by the whole community: yet every family has its particular part, marked off when planted; and this portion receives the common labour and a.s.sistance, until the corn, or other articles cultivated upon it, are ripe. Each family then gathers and deposits in its store-house its own proper share, setting apart a small gift or contribution for a public granary, which stands near the centre of the plantation.
Mr. Bartram made several excursions to places in the vicinity of Cuscowilla and the Alachua Swamp. In one of these, he came to a little clump of shrubs, where he observed several large snakes, entwined together. They were each about four feet in length, and as thick as a man's wrist. Mr. Bartram approached, and endeavoured to irritate them, but they appeared perfectly harmless. Numerous herds of cattle and deer, and many troops of horses were seen peacefully browsing on the gra.s.s of the savannah, or strolling through the groves on the surrounding heights. Large flocks of wild turkeys were also observed in the woods.
At some distance from Cuscowilla, is an Indian town called _Talahasochte_, which Mr. Bartram some time afterwards visited. It is delightfully situated on the elevated east bank of a river called _Little St. John's_. The habitations were, at this time, about thirty in number, and constructed like those of Cuscowilla; but the council-house was neater and more s.p.a.cious.
The Indians of this town have large and handsome canoes, which they form out of the trunks of cypress-trees: some of them are sufficiently commodious to accommodate twenty or thirty persons. In these canoes they descend the river, on trading and hunting excursions, as far as the sea-coast, to the neighbouring islands and sh.o.r.es; and they sometimes even cross the Gulf of Florida to the West India Islands.
In this neighbourhood are seen many singular and unaccountable cavities.
These are funnel-shaped; and some of them are from twenty to forty yards across at the rim. Their perpendicular depth is, in many instances, upwards of twenty feet.
At this time, nearly the whole of East Florida, and a great portion of West Florida, were in the possession of Indians; and these chiefly a tribe called _Siminoles_, an apparently contented and happy race of people, who enjoyed, in superabundance, the necessaries and the conveniences of life. With the skins of deer, bears, tigers, and wolves, together with honey, wax, and other productions of their country, this people purchased, from Europeans, clothing, equipage, and domestic utensils. They seemed to be free from want or desires: they had no enemy to dread; and, apparently, nothing to occasion disquietude, except the gradual encroachments of the white people.
Mr. Bartram returned to the trading-store, on the bank of the river St.
John; and, about the end of September, he reached the place from which he had commenced his voyage.
We must now proceed, across the southern states, to the mouth of the Mississippi, for the purpose of tracing the course of that astonis.h.i.+ng river, and describing the most important places in its vicinity.
Fourteen Day's Instruction.
UNITED STATES CONTINUED.
_The River Mississippi._
The Mississippi has its source in about forty-six degrees thirty minutes of north lat.i.tude; and terminates in the Gulf of Mexico, at some distance below the town of New Orleans. Its length, in a direct line, exceeds one thousand seven hundred miles; and it falls into the sea, by many mouths, most of which, like those of the Nile, are too shallow to be navigable. For a considerable distance, its banks are low, marshy, and covered with reeds; and are annually overflowed, from the melting of the snows in the interior of the country. The inundation usually commences in March, and continues about three months; and the slime which it deposits on the adjacent lands, tends, in a very important degree, to fertilize the soil. This river is navigable to a great distance; but, at spring-tides, the navigation is difficult, on account of the strength of the currents, and the innumerable islands, shoals, and sand-banks, with which it is interspersed. Vessels of three hundred tons burden can ascend it as high as Natchez, four hundred miles from the sea; and those of lighter burden can pa.s.s upward, as far as the Falls of St. Anthony, in lat.i.tude forty-four degrees fifty minutes.
_New Orleans_, the capital of the state of Louisiana, is situated on the northern bank of the Mississippi, and is a place of great commercial importance. It was founded in the year 1717, and now contains near thirty thousand inhabitants. In 1787, it had eleven hundred houses; but, nine hundred of these having been consumed by fire, it has since been rebuilt on a regular plan, and a more enlarged scale. Most of the houses are constructed with wooden frames, raised about eight feet from the ground, and have galleries round them, and cellars under the floors: almost every house has a garden.