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baggage, whilst the mail for the above city passing through Colum- 
bia, in South Carolina, drives four* Although the first was the direct 
road, and the second a circuitous one, I resolved to take the latter. 
On the 8th of December, at three o’clock in the morning, we 
set out from Fayetteville, and travelled for fifty-seven miles to 
Cheraw, in the state of South Carolina, where we arrived at seven 
o’clock in the evening. Our travelling company was increased 
in Fayetteville, by Mr. Davis from Columbia, a young gentleman 
very well educated. The weather was pretty cold, but not rainy. 
The way continued still through forests, and was very sandy. We 
saw little interesting, except the vegetation. We discovered new 
plants progressively as we advanced to the south, for instance, 
jessamines and a tree hitherto unknown to me, called pride of 
China, melia azedarach, which is generally seen near the houses; 
there were also gum-trees. We crossed several rivers, the most 
considerable of which were the great and the little Pedee, near 
Cheraw. In this place I met with Commodores Bainbridge 
and Warrington, and Captain Biddle; these gentlemen were 
appointed commissioners by the government, to determine a place 
for a naval establishment on the Gulf of Mexico, becoming every 
day of greater importance to the United States. They came from 
Pensacola to Savannah by sea, whence they went to Washing¬ 
ton by land. Commodore Warrington, however, was to return 
to the Gulf of Mexico, where he commanded the station. I was 
very much pleased with their acquaintance and spent the evening 
with them. On the 6th of December, at three, A. M. we left 
Cheraw and went to Camden, sixty-eight miles. We continually 
rode through a thick wood. It had frozen very hard the pre¬ 
ceding night, and the cold continued still in the morning; but the 
sun appeared, it grew warmer, and the day became very fine, as 
in spring. The increasing blue of the sky, indicated that we 
were rapidly advancing towards the south. The plants were 
much the same, but the magnolias of different kinds, became gradu¬ 
ally larger. Our meals showed us that we were in a country, 
were rice is cultivated. 
Black creek and two branches of Lynch’s creek were the 
most considerable streams. The country on these creeks, on ac¬ 
count of their evergreen vegetation pleased me very much. The 
ground was sandy, and we went very slowly on. We break¬ 
fasted and dined in solitary frame houses, which stand upon pil¬ 
lars built of bricks, and permit the air to pass under them, the 
walls of these buildings are so thin and disjoined, that the day¬ 
light finds access every where. At the openings for windows, 
there is nothing but shutters. It would be a good speculation to 
establish a glass manufactory in this country, where there is such 
a want of glass, and a superabundance of pine trees and sand. 
