412 Life of Audubon, 



the whites ; many of them were young and well looking, 

 and with far less decorations than I have seen before on 

 such occasions. The chief of the tribe is an old and cor- 

 pulent man. 



" We walked towards the President's house, accom- 

 panied by the secretaiy of the navy, and as soon as we 

 rose above the bank, we saw before us a level of far-ex- 

 tending prairie, destitute of timber, and rather poor soil. 

 Houses half finished, and most of them without roofs, 

 tents, and a liberty pole, with the capitol, were all exhib- 

 ited to our view at once. We approached the President's 

 mansion, however, wading through water above our 

 ankles. This abode of President Houston is a small log- 

 house, consisting of two rooms, and a passage through, 

 after the Southern fashion. The moment we stepped 

 over the threshold, on the right hand of the passage we 

 found ourselves ushered into what in other countries 

 would be called the ante-chamber j the ground floor how- 

 ever was muddy and filthy, a large fire was burning, a 

 small table covered with paper and writing materials, 

 was in the centre, camp-beds, trunks, and different ma- 

 terials, were strewed around the room. We were at once 

 presented to several members of the cabinet, some of 

 whom bore the stamp of men of intellectual ability, sim- 

 ple though bold, in their general appearance. Here we 

 were presented to Mr. Crawford, an agent of the British 

 Minister to Mexico, who has come here on some secret 

 mission. 



" The President was engaged in the opposite room on 

 national business, and we could not see him for some 

 time. Meanwhile we amused ourselves by walking to the 

 eapitol, which was yet without a roof, and the floors, 

 benches, and tables of both houses of Congress were as 

 well saturated with water as our clothes had been in the 

 morning. Being invited by one of the great men of the 



