CHAP. XXT.] DISAPPOINTED PLACE-HUNTER. 31 



woods, and when we stopped to change horses, a lady, who was 

 left for a time alone in the coach with my wife, informed her, 

 that a young man who had been sitting opposite to them, had, 

 the day before, shot an Irishman in a tavern, and was flying 

 from justice. A few days later we learnt that the wounded 

 man had not died, but as it was a Penitentiary offense, it was 

 prudent for the culprit to keep out of the way for a time. On 

 hearing this, I asked one of my companions how it was possible, 

 when such affairs were occurring, and the police was so feeble, 

 we could travel night and day, and feel secure from personal 

 violence. {i There is no danger here,&quot; he said, &quot; of robbery, as 

 in Europe, for we have none who are poor, or rendered vicious 

 and desperate by want. No murders are committed here except 

 in personal quarrels, and are almost always the act of restless 

 and unquiet spirits, who seek excitement in gambling and drink. 

 The wars in Texas relieved us of many of these dare-devils.&quot; 



One of our fellow-travelers seemed to be a disappointed place- 

 hunter, who had been lobbying the House of Legislature in vain 

 for the whole session. He was taking his revenge by telling 

 many a story against an assembly, which had been so obtuse as 

 not to discover his merits. Twelve of them, he said, from the 

 upper country, could not even read, and one of these happening, 

 when in the House, to receive an invitation to the Governor s 

 annual dinner, rose, and, holding the card in his hand, with the 

 writing upside down, said, &quot; Mr. Speaker, I am determined to 

 oppose this resolution.&quot; Another, when they were debating 

 whether they should move the Capital, or seat of legislature, 

 from Milledgeville to Macon, went out, and, on resuming his 

 seat, declared they were wasting their time, for he had measured, 

 and made a rough estimate of the weight of the building (which 

 was of stone), and found, on calculation, that all the oxen in 

 Georgia could not drag it a single mile ! 



There was much talk here of a recent exhibition on the frori 

 tiers of Georgia, of what is commonly called Lynch law, which 

 invalidated the assertion of my companion in regard to the ab 

 sence of robbers. Many people having been plundered of their 

 property, especially their negroes, organized a private association 



