39 S TRAVELS IN 
feveral miles led us near the Alabama, within two 
or three miles of its banks : the furface of the 
land is broken into hills and vales, fome of them 
of confiderable elevation, covered with forefts of 
(lately trees, fuch as already mentioned, but they 
are of a much larger growth than thofe of the 
fame kind which grow in the Southern or inha- 
bited parts of Georgia and Carolina. We now 
left the river at a good diftance, the Alabama 
bearing away Southerly, and entered a vaft open 
foreft which continued above feventy miles, Eaft 
and Weft, without any confiderable variation, gene- 
rally a level plain, except near the banks of creeks 
that courfe through : the foil on the furface is a 
dufky brownifh mould or fandy loam, on a founda- 
tion of ftiff clay ; and the furface, pebbles or gravel 
mixed with clay on the fummits of the ridges : the 
forefts confift chiefly of Oak, Hiccory, Afh, Sour 
Gum (Nyffa fylvatica), Sweet Gum (Liquidambar 
ftyracifiua), Beech, Mulberry, Scarlet maple, Black 
walnut, Dog wood, Cornus Florida, iEfculus pa- 
via, Primus Indica, Ptelea, and an abundance of 
Chefnut (Fag. caftanea) on the hills, with Pinus 
tseda and Pinus lutea. During our progrefs over this 
vail high foreft, we croffed extenfive open plains, 
the foil gravelly, producing a few trees and fhrubs 
or undergrowth, which were entangled with Grape 
vines (Vitis campeftris) of a peculiar fpecies ; the 
bunches (racemes) of fruit were very large, as were 
the grapes that compofed them, though yet green 
and not fully grown, but when ripe they are of va- 
rious colours, and their juice fweet and rich. The 
Indians gather great quantities of them, which they 
prepare for keeping, by firft fweating them on hur- 
dles over a gentle fire, and afterwards drying them 
on their bunches in the fun and air, and ftore them 
up 
