26 
of the river, is rather marshy, grown up with willows, laurel, 
and cane. Not far from the river we beheld several buildings 
appointed for the popular assembly of the Indians, called the big 
talk. They are large and round, having a conical-formed roof, 
covered with tree-bark; they have walls of lime, and a covered 
low entrance also of lime. The Indians assemble in these build¬ 
ings only in bad weather, or at night, and then a fire kindled in 
the middle of the house, gives light. In good weather they 
collect in a square place covered with sheds, under which the In¬ 
dians sit down on planks protected from the sun’s heat. There 
is also another place for public games, and particularly for ball¬ 
playing. They appeared here also to have a species of masque¬ 
rade, for we found some in a half gourd, cut through and made 
into a mask, with eyes and mouth cut in it, and the nose set 
on of a piece of wood. From the neck of the gourd, which 
was cut at half its length, they had made a pair of horns, and 
fasted them on the mask, and under this a long white beard. 
We passed the river Chatahouchee at one of the ferries belonging 
to the Indians, and kept in order by them. The right bank is some¬ 
what steep, of red earth, which, from the violent rain, had be¬ 
come slippery. Half a mile from the ferry brought us to Fort 
Mitchel. It stood upon a height, and was situated to the right 
of us. We dismounted not far from this, between Indian wig¬ 
wams at Crowell’s tavern. The host was a brother of the Indian 
agent. This house has also a plantation attached to it, as the one 
above-mentioned had. Colonel Wool and I were lodged in an 
airy out-house of clap-boards, without a ceiling, and windows 
without glass. We were accommodated with freer circulation 
than wmuld have fallen to our lot in a German barn. Four com¬ 
panies of the fourth regiment of infantry, the staff of which was 
fixed at Pensacola, lay in garrison at the fort. The commandant, 
Major Donoho, and his officers had taken board at Crowell’s ta¬ 
vern; in the evening we made acquaintance with them. The 
most of these officers, pupils of the school at West Point, were 
men of information, and we passed the remainder of the evening 
much pleased with their society. 
We made the 31st of December a day of rest, as Colonel 
Wool had to inspect the garrison of the fort. The four compa¬ 
nies here stationed form properly the garrison of Pensacola, and 
were only sent here last summer during the contest between 
G eorgia and the United States, to protect the Creeks against the 
encroachments of that State. It openly wishes to take possession 
of the Indian territory to the Chatahouchee, to which river, 
agreeable to the charter, Georgia extends. The right bank 
of the river, on which we now found ourselves, is in the ju¬ 
risdiction of the State of Alabama. The troops arriving, at first 
