NATCHEZ IN 1820. 541 



tance from the city. If I am correctly informed, about two years previ- 

 ous to this \isit 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 Car- 

 rion Crow had partly swallowed. 



I did not meet at Natchez with many individuals fond of Ornitho- 

 logical pursuits, but the hospitality with which I was received was such 

 as I am not likely to forget. Mr Garnier subsequently proved an ex- 

 cellent friend to me, as you may find elsewhere recorded. Of another in- 

 dividual, whose kindness towards 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 with him, I could not help 

 looking upon him as another Mentor. Although his few remaining 

 locks were grey, his countenance still expressed the gaiety 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 neighbourhood 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 posses- 

 sion by the French, and subsequently by ourselves. He was also well 

 versed in the Indian languages, spoke French with the greatest purity, and 

 was a religious poet. Many a pleasant hour have I spent in his com- 

 pany ; but alas ! he has gone the way of all the earth ! 



