ALEXANDER WILSON. 
Ixi 
bridges is the greatest inconvenience to a foot traveller 
here. Between Shelbyville and Frankfort, having gone 
out of my way to see a pigeon roost, (which, by the bye, 
is the greatest curiosity I have seen since leaving home,) 
I waded a deep creek called Benson, nine or ten times. 
I spent several days in Frankfort, and in rambling among 
the stupendous cliffs of Kentucky river, On Thursday 
evening I entered Lexington. 
“ In descending the Ohio, I amused myself with a 
poetical narrative of my expedition, which I have called 
‘ The Pilgrim / an extract from which shall close this 
long, and I am afraid, tiresome letter.” 
“ In the woods, [near the banks of the Green river,] I met 
a soldier, on foot, from New Orleans, who had been robbed 
and plundered by the Chactaws, as he passed through 
their nation. ‘ Thirteen or fourteen Indians,’ said he, ‘ sur- 
rounded me before I was aware, cut away my canteen, 
tore off my hat, took the handkerchief from my neck, and 
the shoes from my feet, and all the money I had from me, 
which was about forty-five dollars.’ Such was his story. 
Fie was going to Chilocothe, and seemed pretty nearly 
done up. In the afternoon I crossed another stream, of 
about twenty-five yards in width, called Little Barren ; 
after which, the country began to assume a new and very 
singular appearance. The woods, which had hitherto 
been stately, now degenerated into mere scrubby saplings, 
on which not a bud was beginning to unfold, and grew so 
open, that I could see for a mile through them. No 
dead timber or rotten leaves were to be seen, but the 
whole face of the ground was covered with rich verdure, 
interspersed with a variety of very beautiful flowers, alto- 
gether new to me. It seemed as if the whole country 
had once been one general level ; but that, from some 
unknown cause, the ground had been undermined, and 
had fallen in, in innumerable places, forming regular 
funnel-shaped concavities, of all dimensions, from twenty 
e 
