49 
of wood, two stories high, and furnished with a piazza below, 
and a gallery above. Upon the left wing, stands a similar build¬ 
ing appointed for the residence of the lieutenant colonel and ma¬ 
jor; at present, however, arranged as an hospital, as the first offi¬ 
cer commands in Tampa Bay, and the major'in Fort MitcheL 
The cantonment has its front towards the bay; at the foot of the 
eminence on which it stands, is a bayou, and the appearance is 
really handsome. The colonel has only two officers and about 
twenty men, with the regimental surgeon, so that the inspection 
was soon completed. 
After dinner we returned to the town, and passed the evening 
in a very pleasant party at Mr. Walton’s, which was given from 
politeness to me. I found here several creole ladies of the place, 
who spoke bad French, but looked very well, and were dressed 
with taste. Conversation was our only amusement, but this was 
animated and well supported. 
On the 15th of January we left Pensacola, at eight o’clock in 
the morning, to return to Mobile by the same way we came. We 
encountered a skunk, something larger than a cat, with a thick, 
hairy, and erect tail. This creature cannot run with agility, and 
we could easily have caught it. We, however, suffered it to go 
quietly to its hole, as it scatters its effluvium when disturbed, and 
if the least piece of clothing be touched by it, it must be thrown 
away entirely, as there is no method of freeing it from the de¬ 
testable smell. If a dog is sprinkled by it he become almost sick, 
whines, and throws himself about for some time on the earth. 
We passed also two wolf-traps, resembling our rat-traps, but of 
course constructed on a larger scale. 
We made a short stay at the house on Perdido river. We met 
with a planter from the banks of the Alabama, who had come 
here to take back one of his negroes, whom he had hired before 
to the mistress of this house and ferry. He had treated the poor 
creature with such barbarity, that the negro not far from the 
house had threatened him with the knife, and had ran back. The 
man had put us across the river, but as soon as he saw his master, 
he ran away quickly, and was no more to be seen. The gentle¬ 
man asked us to assist him in arresting and detaining his negro, 
but we unanimously rejected his proposal with disgust. Some 
days before, the negro had pleased me much by his lively and 
agreeable disposition, while his master and tormentor appeared 
to me, in every respect, highly the reverse. 
About five o’clock in the afternoon we reached the same log- 
house in which we had passed the night, near Belle Fontaine. As 
it was still daylight, I went immediately in search of the spring 
to which this place owes its name; I found, however, only a 
marsh with several*springs, about which, except the vegetation, 
Vox,. II. 7 
