24 
themselves right and left, sprung against each other, raised their 
hands on high, let them fall again, and bellowed horribly through 
the whole scene. Some old men who stood near, took it in 
dudgeon, that the young men should dance in such a way before 
white people. They called to them to stop. Mr. Crowell, 
however, brought them to silence easily, by whiskey. 
The colour of these Indians is a dusky brown. They have 
black straight hair. Several of them possess negroes, to whom 
it is very acceptable to live with them, since they are treated with 
more equality than by the whites. Some of these negroes were 
very well clothed in the Indian manner, they drank and jumped 
about with the Indians. One of them was of colossal stature, and 
appeared to be in great request among the Indians, to whom he 
served as interpreter. The constitution of these Indians is a mix¬ 
ture of aristocratical and republican form of government. The 
chiefs are chosen for life, and the dignity is not hereditary; for 
improper conduct they can be deposed. They cannot write 
their language. Their laws are of course very simple, and founded 
on traditionary usage. 
It had rained hard in the night, between the 28th and 29th of 
December, it rained also in the day, almost incessantly, yet this 
rain was mild and warm, nearly like a spring rain in Germany* 
There was a consultation, whether we should remain or go farther 
on, I determined on the latter. About nine o’clock we left our 
night quarters. In the vicinity thereof, the governor of the state 
of Georgia had built Fort Lawrence, which was evacuated, and 
given up at the peace. The houses, which belonged to the agency, 
were then built as magazines and hospitals for the troops, and ar¬ 
ranged for a post of defence. Near the chimney, and the doors 
and windows, (the last without glass sashes,) were loop-holes 
pierced. Behind this post we passed the Flint river in an In¬ 
dian ferry-boat, and found ourselves landed upon their territory. 
We rode twenty-eight miles farther to a lonely plantation, called 
CurrePs. The road ran through the worst part of the Indian lands, 
the woods consisted as before, of the long-leaved pine, and it was 
only in damp places we observed green leaves. In particular, 
there grew high and beautiful cane. The soil is for the most 
part dry sand, in strata, and particularly in the bottoms it is 
mixed with clay, and of a full yellow colour. The Indians have 
thrown bridges over two brooks with marshy shores, at each of 
them we paid, with great pleasure, half a dollar toll-money. The 
bridges are indeed not remarkably good, yet better than several 
in the Christian state of Georgia, and even in many of the more 
northern states. We met but few of the Indian inhabitants; these 
were all wrapt up in woollen blankets. We only saw three wig- 
