At Houston^ 'Texas. ' 411 



general appearance of the country was more pleasing thai; 

 othenvise. About noon we entered Buffalo Bayou, at 

 the mouth of the San Jacinto River, and opposite the 

 famous battle-ground of the same name. Proceeding 

 smoothly up the bayou, we saw abundance of game, and 

 at the distance of some twenty miles stopped at the 

 house of a Mr. Batterson. This bayou is usually slug- 

 gish, deep, and bordered on both sides with a strip of 

 woods not exceeding a mile in depth. The banks have a 

 gentle slope, and the soil on its shores is good ; but the 

 prairies in the rear are cold and generally wet, bored by 

 innumerable cray-fish, destitute of clover, but covered 

 with coarse grass and weeds, with a sight here and there 

 of a grove of timber, rising from a bed of cold, wet clay. 



It rained and lightened, and we passed the night at 

 Mr. Batterson's. The tenth it rained again, but we 

 pushed on to Houston, and arrived there wet and hungry. 

 The rain had swollen the water in the bayou, and in- 

 creased the current so that we were eight hours rowing 

 twelve miles. 



'^ May 15. We landed at Houston, the capital of Texas, 

 drenched to the skin, and were kindly received on board 

 the steamer Yellow Stone, Captain West, who gave us his 

 state-room to change our clothes, and furnished us re- 

 freshments and dinner. 



" The Buffalo Bayou had risen about six feet, and the 

 neighboring prairies were partly covered with water : 

 there was a wild and desolate look cast on the surround- 

 ing scenery. We had already passed two little girls en- 

 camped on the bank of the bayou, under the cover of a 

 few clap-boards, cooking a scanty meal ; shanties, car- 

 goes of hogsheads, barrels, &:c., were spread about the 

 landing ; and Indians drunk and hallooing were stum- 

 bling about in the mud in every direction. These poor 

 beings had come here to enter into a treaty proposed by 



