ALEXANDER WILSON. 
lxv 
Black river, I made long zigzags among the rich nabobs, who live 
on their rice plantations, amidst large villages of* negro huts. One 
of these gentlemen told me, that he had ‘ something better than 
six hundred head of blacks ! ’ 
“ These excursions detained me greatly. The roads to the plan- 
tations were so long, so difficult to find, and so bad, and the 
hospitality of the planters was such, that I could scarcely get 
away again. I ought to have told you, that the deep sands of 
South Carolina had so worn out my horse, that, with all my care, 
I found he would give up. Chance led me to the house of a planter, 
named V — - — , about forty miles north of the river Wackamaw, where 
I proposed to bargain with him, and to give up my young blood 
horse for another in exchange, giving him at least as good a 
character as he deserved. He asked twenty dollars to boot, and 
I 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 sea 
beach, about three miles, under pretext 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 off with mfey 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 got a very devil before my chair ; the least round 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 forgive him all his sins, only 
keeping a close rein and sharp look out.” 
qif aims oouiw oini fi onfjs ssjhh i> si “xavn qiB lo obis- giiB no 
From the increasing subscription to the Ornithology , it was thought 
expedient to throw off three hundred copies in addition to the first 
two hundred; and the second volume, published in January, 1810, 
started with an impression of five hundred, and a fair proportion 
of subscribers, — the work gaining, as it advanced, fresh applause 
