EPISODES 



249 



The remains of an old Spanish fort are still to be seen 

 at a short distance from the city. If 1 am correctly in- 

 formed, about two years previous to this visit of mine a 

 large portion of the hill near it gave way, sank about 

 a hundred feet, and carried many of the houses of the 

 Lower Town into the river. This, it would appear, was 

 occasioned by the quicksand running springs that flow 

 beneath the strata of mixed pebbles and clay of which the 

 hill is composed. The part that has subsided presents 

 the appearance of a basin or bowl, and is used as a depot 

 for the refuse of the town, on which the Vultures feed 

 when they can get nothing better. There it was that I 

 saw a White-headed Eagle chase one of those filthy birds, 

 knock it down, and feast on the entrails of a horse which 

 the Carrion Crow had partly swallowed. 



I did not meet at Natchez many individuals fond of 



ornithological pursuits, but the hospitality with which I 



was received was such as I am not likely to forget. Mr. 



Garnier subsequently proved an excellent friend to me, as 



you may find elsewhere recorded. Of another individual, 



whose kindness to me is indelibly impressed on my heart, 



I would say a few words, although he was such a man as 



Fenelon alone could describe. Charles Carre was of 



French origin, the son of a nobleman of the old regime. 



His acquirements and the benevolence of his disposition 



were such that when I first met him I could not help 



looking upon him as another Mentor. Although his few 



remaining locks were gray, his countenance still expressed 



the gayety and buoyant feelings of youth. He had the 



best religious principles; for his heart and his purse were 



ever open to the poor. Under his guidance it was that I 



visited the whole neighborhood of Natchez ; for he was 



acquainted with all its history, from the period at which it 



had first come under the power of the Spaniards to that 



of their expulsion from the country, its possession by the 



French, and subsequently by ourselves. He w^as'also well 



