NORTH AMERICA. 
repeated heavy fhowers of rain, from morning until 
evening. 
Not having an immediate opportunity from 
hence to Manchac, a Britifli fettlement on the Mif- 
fillippi, I endeavoured to procure a light canoe, with 
which I defigned to purfue my travels along fhore 
to the fettiements about Pearl river. 
Auguft 5th, fet off from Mobile up the river in 
a trading boat, and was landed at Taenfa bluff, the 
feat of Major Farmer, to make good my engage- 
ments, in confequence of an invitation from that- 
worthy gentleman, to fpend fome days in his fa- 
mily : here I obtained the ufe of a light canoe, to 
continue my voyage up the river. The fettlement 
of Taenfa is on the fite of an ancient town of a 
tribe of Indians of that name, which is apparent 
from many artificial mounds of eaith and other 
ruins. Befides Mr. Farmer's dwellings, there are 
many others inhabited by French families ; w r ho 
are chiefly his tenants. It is a molt delightful fitua- 
tion, commanding a fpacious profpecl up and down 
the river, and the low lands of his extenfive planta- 
tions on the oppofite fhore. In my excurfions about 
this place, I obferved many curious vegetable pro- 
ductions, particularly a fpecies of Myrica (Myrica 
inodoraj : this very beautiful evergreen fhrub, which 
the French inhabitants call the Wax tree, grows in 
wet fandy ground about the edges of fwamps ; it 
rifes eteft nine or ten feet, dividing itfelf into a 
multitude of nearly erecl branches, which are gar- 
nifhed with many fhining deep green entire leaves 
of a lanceolate figure ; the branches produce abun- 
dance of large round berries, nearly the fize of bird 
cherries, which are covered with a fcale or coat of 
white wax ; no part of this plant pofTelles any de- 
D d 2 gree 
