85 
back to Europe, as it was said to obtain the money collected in 
France for the colony, and to bring out settlers; he lost his life 
some years ago in the shipwreck of the Albion packet, on the 
Irish coast. General Lallemand resorted to New York, where 
he is doing well. The Frenchmen, with some of whom I after¬ 
wards conversed in New Orleans, insisted that they had received 
none of the money collected for them. Eagleville, since called 
Demopolis, has only one store, and a few’ log houses. It lies in 
k very level country, and at the most only five Frenchmen, whose 
names I could not obtain, are living there now, the remaining in¬ 
habitants are Americans. 
After we had looked about the two streets of Cahawba, we 
embarked and pursued our voyage. At our going on board, we 
remarked that Cahawba was a depot for cotton, which, partly in 
steam-boats, and partly in vessels made of light wood, are trans¬ 
ported down the river. These vessels have a flat bottom, and 
are built in the form of a parallelogram. The part under the 
water is pitched, and on the fore and back narrower ends, are 
rudder oars, with which the boats are steered. The vessels are 
finished in a very rough way; they are broken up in Mobile, 
and the timber sold. They are known by the general title of 
flat boats. 
Some miles below Cahawba we stopped on the right bank, near 
the plantation of Mr. Rutherford. There were still fifteen bales 
of cotton to be taken in. While this was doing, we went on shore 
to take a walk, where the bank was tolerably high. Mr. Ruther¬ 
ford’s plantation has been about six years in cultivation. The 
mansion-house is of wood, and built as other log houses, but it is 
handsomely situated among live oaks and pride of China trees. 
The entrance is shaded by a rose-tree. Around were handsome, 
high and uncommonly thick sycamores, whose trunks appeared 
white, elms, gum trees, and the above named (live oaks and Chi¬ 
nas) many from a single trunk, also cane, that was at least twen¬ 
ty feet high. The situation of the plantation was unhealthy, and 
Mr. R. a Georgian by birth, told us that he carried his family 
for the sake of health to the north every summer. We saw here 
several hundred paroquets flying round, who kept up a great 
screaming. Many were shot. They are parrots, but of a larger 
species than the common kind, clear green with yellow tips to 
their wings, and orange-coloured heads, flesh-coloured bills, and 
long green tails. We had before seen on the bank several aston¬ 
ishingly numerous flocks of black birds. The banks of the river 
are here and there one hundred feet high, they are composed of 
steep sandstone rock, from which springs flow. 
By the accession of the new load of cotton bales, our vessel 
became too heavily laden. She acquired a balancing motiou, 
