31 
the unusual drought. The Alabama river was so low that the 
steam-boats had not been able for several weeks to pass from Mo¬ 
bile to Montgomery. This place had therefore, for a length of 
time, suffered for the want of the most necessary supplies, which 
are drawn from Mobile; fifteen dollars had been asked for one 
bushel of salt. We met several caravans of emigrants from the 
eastern part of Georgia, who were on their way to Butler county, 
Alabama, to settle themselves on land which they had purchased 
very cheap from the United States. The number of their negroes, 
wagons, horses, and cattle, showed that these emigrants were in 
easy circumstances. On account of the bad road, we went at first 
a good deal on foot; at one of the creeks, the carriage passed 
through the ford, and we footmen crossed over on one of the 
simplest bridges in the world, namely, a felled pine tree of 
great size. We arrived at Montgomery about two o’clock. In 
the night it had frozen, but the day had solaced us with the warmth 
of spring. 
Montgomery lies on the Alabama river, a navigable stream, 
which rises about two hundred and twenty miles above this place, 
and after it has joined itself to the Tombigbee, empties into the 
Mexican gulf, below Mobile. The town contains about one 
thousand two hundred inhabitants, of both complexions. It has 
two streets, which are very broad, tolerably good houses, one, 
not yet finished, of brick, which material is very bad here. This 
place was first laid out about five years ago, and has already a 
very lively appearance. On the bank of the river, they were em¬ 
ployed in loading two steam-boats with cotton bales, as, within 
a few days, the river had risen five feet, and the navigation was 
once more carried on with animation. 
The journey by water from Montgomery to Mobile, is four 
hundred miles, and as we intended to go this way, we took 
a look at the two steam-boats lying here, the Steubenville 
and Hornet, bound for Mobile. We chose the Steubenville, 
which gave out to start on the next day. The construction of 
both these boats, and their arrangement, was far inferior to that 
of the steam-boats in the north: every thing was coarser, and dis¬ 
played the difference between the civilization of the two different 
sections of the union. This town is so new, that the original 
forest still stands between the houses. In a street there was a 
well digging; I discovered by this that the earth was exceedingly 
well adapted to brick-making, and that an industrious man, who 
should establish a kiln here, must make a handsome profit on the 
business. The bricks which they sell here at ten dollars a thousand, 
are scandalous. Of the inhabitants I heard nothing commenda¬ 
ble: and how can this young town, whose situation, at least in 
