48 COLLISION WITH TREES. [CHAP. XXIII. 



when exposed to the air, a fine range of precipices covered with 

 wood forms a picturesque feature in the scenery ; but I obtained 

 the richest harvest of cretaceous fossils far below, at a landing 

 called Prairie Bluff. 



The banks of the Alabama, like those of the Savannah and 

 Altarnaha rivers, are fringed with canes, over which usually tow 

 ers the deciduous cypress, covered with much pendent moss. The 

 mistletoe enlivens the boughs of several trees, still out of leaf, and 

 now and then, through an opening in the thicket bordering the 

 river, the evergreen pine-forest appears in the back-ground. Some 

 of the largest trees on the banks are sycamores (Platanus occi- 

 dentalis), called button-wood, one of which I measured, and found 

 it to be eighteen feet in circumference. The old bark is contin 

 ually peeling off, and the new is as white as if the trunk of the 

 tree had been painted. 



When it was growing dusk, and nearly all had retired to their 

 cabins, and some to their beds, we were startled by a loud crash, 

 as if parts of the woodwork of the steamer were giving way over 

 our heads. At the same moment a shower of broken glass came 

 rattling down on the floor of the cabin. As I expected to land 

 in the course of the night at Claiborne, I had not taken off my 

 clothes, so I rushed immediately on deck, and learnt from the 

 captain that there was no danger. I then went down to tell the 

 passengers, especially the women, who were naturally in no small 

 alarm, that all was safe. I found them, in great consternation, 

 crowded together at the door of the ladies cabin, several mothers 

 with children in their arms. When I returned to see what had 

 happened, a most singular and novel scene presented itself. Crash 

 after crash of broken spars and the ringing of shattered window- 

 glasses were still heard, and the confusion and noise were inde 

 scribable. &quot; Don t be alarmed ; we have only got among the 

 trees,&quot; said the captain. This, I found, was no uncommon oc 

 currence when these enormous vessels are sweeping down at full 

 speed in the flood season. Strange as it may seem, the higher 

 the waters rise the narrower is the river channel. It is true that 

 the adjoining swamps and low lands are inundated far and wide ; 

 but the steamers must all pass between two rows of tall trees 



