LIFE OF WILSON. 
cliil 
of them could speak a word of English. This man was by birth 
a Virginian, and had been forty years among the Chickasaws. His 
countenance and manners were savage and worse llian Indian. I 
met many parties of boatmen to-day, and crossed a number of bad 
swamps. The woods continued to exhibit the same open luxuriant 
appearance, and at night I lodged at a white man’s, who has also 
two wives, and a numerous progeny of young savages. Here I 
met with a lieutenant of the United States army, anxiously inquir- 
ing for General Hampton. On Friday the same open woods con- 
tinued ; I met several parties of Indians, and passed two or three 
of their hamlets. At one of these were two fires in the yard, and 
at each, eight or ten Indians, men and women, squat on the ground. 
In these hamlets there is generally one house built of a circular 
form, and plastered thickly all over without and within with clay. 
This they call a hot house, and it is the general winter quarters of 
the hamlet in cold weather. Here they all kennel, and having 
neither window nor place for the smoke to escape, it must be a 
sweet place while forty or fifty of them have it in occupancy. Round 
some of these hamlets were great droves of cattle, horses, and hogs. 
I lodged this night on the top of a hill far from water, and suftei ed 
severely for thirst. On Saturday I passed a number of most exe- 
crable swamps, the weather was extremely warm, and I had been 
attacked by something like the dysentery, which occasioned a con- 
stant burning thirst, and weakened me greatly. I stopt this day 
frequently to wash my head and throat in the water, to allay the 
burning thirst, and putting on my hat, without wiping, received 
considerable relief from it. Since crossing the Tennessee the 
woods have been interspersed with pine, and the soil has become 
more sandy. This day I met a Captain Hughes, a traveller, on 
his return from Santa Fee. My complaint increased so much that 
I could scarcely sit on horseback, and all night my mouth and 
throat were parched with a burning thirst and fever. On Sunda\ 
I bought some raw eggs which I ate. I repeated the dose at mid- 
2Q 
VOL. IX. 
