Ixiv 
LIFE OF A7ILS0N. 
young hlood horse for another in exchange ; giving him at least as good a char- 
acter as he deserved. He asked twenty dollars to boot, and / thirty. We 
parted, but I could perceive that he had taken a liking to my steed ; so I went 
on. He followed me to the seabeach, about three miles, under pretence of 
pointing out to me the road ; and there, on the sands, amidst the roar of the 
Atlantic, we finally bargained ; and I found myself in possession of a large, 
well formed and elegant sorrel horse, that ran oif with me, at a canter, 
for fifteen miles along the sea shore; and travelled the same day forty-two 
miles, with nothing but a few mouthfuls of rice straw, which I got from a 
negro. If you have ever seen the rushes with which carpenters sometimes 
smooth their work, you may form some idea of the common fare of the South 
Carolina horses. I found now that I had ^ot a very devil before my chair; 
the least sound of the whip made him spring half a rod at a leap ; no road, 
however long or heavy, could tame him. Two or three times he had nearly 
broke my neck, and chair to boot; and at Georgetown ferry he threw one of 
the boatmen into the river. But he is an excellent traveller, and for that one 
quality I forgave him all his sins, only keeping a close reia, and a sharp look- 
out. 
^ r)C ^ ^ 
"I should now give you some account of Charleston, with the streets of 
which I am as well acquainted as I was with those of New York and Boston ; 
but I reserve that till we meet. I shall only say, that the streets cross each 
other at right angles — are paved on the sides — have a low bed of sand in the 
middle ; and frequently are in a state fit to compare to those of Norfolk. The 
town, however, is neat — has a gay appearance — is full of shops ; and has a 
market-place which far surpasses those of Philadelphia for cleanliness, and is 
an honor to tlie city. Many of the buildings have two, three, and four ranges 
of piazzas, one above another, with a great deal of gingerbread work about 
them. The streets are crowded with negroes ; and their quarrels often afford 
amusement to the passengers. In a street called Broad street, I every day see 
a crowd of wretchedly clad blacks, huddled in a corner for sale : people hand- 
ling them as they do black cattle. Here are female chimneysweeps; stalls 
with roasted sweet-potatoes for sale ; and on the wharves clubs of blacks, male 
and female, sitting round fires, amid heaps of oyster-shells, cooking their vic- 
tuals — these seem the happiest mortals on earth. The finest groups for a comic 
painter might every day be found here that any country can produce. 
" The ladies of Charleston are dressed with taste ; but their pale and languid 
countenances by no means correspond with their figures. * * * * 
" To-morrow afternoon I shall set oif for Savannah. I have collected one 
hundred and twenty-five subscribers since leaving home." 
" Savannah, March 5th, 1809. 
" Dear Sir. 
" I have now reached the ne jj?Ms ultra of my peregrinations, and shall 
return home by the first opportunity. Whether this shall be by land or water, 
depends on circumstances ; if the former, I shall go by Augusta, where I am 
told twelve or fifteen subscribers may be procured. These, however, would 
