CHAPTER XXII. 



Macon to Columbus by Stage. Rough Traveling. Passage of Flint River. 

 Columbus. Recent Departure of Creek Indians. Falls of the Chata- 

 hoochie. Competition of Negro and White Mechanics. Age of Pine 

 Trees. Abolitionist &quot;Wrecker&quot; in Railway Car. Runaway Slave. 

 Sale of Novels by Newsboys. Character of Newspaper Press. Geology 

 and Cretaceous Strata, Montgomery. Curfew. Sunday School for 

 Negroes. Protracted Meeting. 



Jan. 21, 1846. HITHERTO we had traveled from the north 

 by railway or steam ship, but from Macon, on our way south, 

 we were compelled to resort to the stage coach, and started first 

 for Columbus. For the first time we remarked that our friends, 

 on parting, wished us a safe journey, instead of a pleasant one, 

 as usual. There had been continued rains, and the roads were 

 cut up by wagons bringing heavy bales of cotton to the Savannah 

 railroad. We passed Knoxville, a small and neat town, and, 

 after dark, supped at a small roadside inn, on pork chops, waffles, 

 and hominy, or porridge made of Indian meal. Here we were 

 told that the stage of the night before had been water-bound by 

 the rising of the rivers. We went on, however, to the great 

 Flint River, where the stage drove into a large flat-boat or raft. 

 The night was mild, but dark, and the scene which presented 

 itself very picturesque. A great number of negroes were stand 

 ing on both banks, chattering incessantly, and holding in their 

 hands large blazing torches of pine-wood, which threw a red 

 light on the trees around. The river was much swollen, but we 

 crossed without impediment. It was the first stream we had 

 come to of those flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. 



Our coach was built on a plan almost universal in America, 

 and like those used in some parts of France, with three seats, 

 the middle one provided with a broad leather strap, to lean back 

 upon. The best places are given to the ladies, and a husband 

 is seated next his wife. There are no outside passengers, except 



