25 
warns, Indian houses, chiefly toll-houses of the bridges. They 
resemble the log-houses, neither are they so open as those which 
I saw last summer in the state of New York. The day was ex¬ 
ceedingly uninteresting. Mr. Currel, with whom we passed the 
night, is a Virginian, who has settled here for the opportunity of 
speculating among the Indians, from whom he purchased his land 
at a rather cheap rate: to judge from his habits of intoxication, 
he has already adapted himself too much to their mode of life. 
His plantation buildings are, as all the rest, log huts: the wind blew 
to our heart’s content through the room; no lamp could burn, 
and we were forced to use a great hearth fire to give us light. 
There was no ceiling to our room, but a transparent roof of clap¬ 
boards directly over us. I was surprised to discover Shakspeare’s 
works in this place. In one of the out-houses there was a very 
good supper set before us, at which, especially, we had excellent 
venison. 
Upon the 30th of December, after we had passed a cold night 
in our clap-board hut, which allowed the storm free admission, 
and locked our few articles of property in our chamber, from 
fear of the Indians sneaking about, we started before break of day, 
and rode a distance of thirty-three miles to Fort Mitchel. The 
weather was cold the whole day through, and threatened rain. 
The country again very uninteresting, mostly pines, a sandy soil, 
here and there mingled with clay: at length wood with green 
leaves. Only in low situations, along the rivulets, of which we 
passed three, was the vegetation to be admired. The laurel 
bushes particularly looked well. It gave me real pleasure to be 
able to walk in a green thicket along a brook, which I could have 
accomplished with difficulty in summer, since these bushes are 
the favourite resort of a great number of rattlesnakes. In a soli¬ 
tary plantation we took our breakfast; it belonged to a Mr. Col- 
frey, a worthy old Virginian, who had lost a considerable pro¬ 
perty, and to better his circumstances, had determined on the 
hard alternative of settling among the Indians. We found his 
plantation in a very uncommon state of order and neatness, and 
we were delighted by an unexpected and most excellent break¬ 
fast. Mr. Bowdoin said to the owner of the place, that he ap¬ 
peared as if he had not always lived thus among the savages, and 
never can I forget how the old man, with tears in his eyes, turn¬ 
ed away without making an answer. 
We met with several wigwams, and various temporary cabins 
of travelling Indians, also a number of bridges, at which we 
were obliged to pay the Indians toll. The country was very 
hilly till we came into a valley, a mile from our night quarters, 
through which the Chatahouchee flowed. This river empties 
itself into the Mexican gulf. The district, even to the left bank 
Vol. II. 4 
