NORTH AMERICA. J95 
town is built : their houfes are neat commodious 
buildings, a wooden frame with plaiftered walls* 
and roofed with Cyprefs bark or fh ingles ; every 
habitation confifts of four oblong fquare houfes, of 
one ftory, of the fame form and dimenfions, and fo 
fituated as to form an exadt fquare, encompaffing 
an area or court yard of about a quarter of an 
acre of ground, leaving an entrance into it at each 
corner. Here is a beautiful new fquare or areopa- 
gus, in the centre of the new town ; but the ftores of 
the principal trader, and two or three Indian ha- 
bitations, Hand near the banks of the oppofite 
fhore on the fite of the old Coolome town. The 
Tallapoofe river is here three hundred yards over, 
and about fifteen or twenty feet deep : the water is 
very clear, agreeable to the tafte, efteemed falu- 
brious, and runs with a fteady, acftive current. 
Being now recruited and refitted, having obtain- 
ed a guide to fet us in the great trading path for 
Weft Florida, early in the morning we fat off for 
Mobile : our progrefs for about eighteen miles was 
through a magnificent foreft, juft without or fkirt- 
jng on the Indian plantations, frequently having a 
view of their diftant towns, over plains or old fields; 
and at evening we came to camp under fhelter of a 
grove of venerable fpreading oaks, on the verge 
of the great plains ; their enormous limbs loaded 
with Tillandfia ufneadfcites, waving in the winds; 
thefe Oaks were fome fhelter to us from the vio- 
lence of an extraordinary fhower of rain, which 
fuddenly came down in fuch floods as to inundate 
the earth, and kept us ftanding on our feet the 
whole night, for the furface of the ground was un- 
der water almoft till morning. Early next morn- 
ing, our guide having performed his duty, took 
leave* 
