Transcriber’s Note:

The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.

LAFAYETTE IN AMERICA
IN 1824 AND 1825;
OR,
JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE
TO THE
UNITED STATES:

BY A. LEVASSEUR,

SECRETARY TO GENERAL LAFAYETTE DURING HIS JOURNEY.

VOL. II.

PHILADELPHIA:

CAREY AND LEA.

1829.

Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to wit:

Be it remembered, That on the sixth day of November, in the fifty-fourth year of the independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1829, Carey and Lea, of the said district, have deposited in this Office the title of a Book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors in the words following, to wit:

“Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825; or Journal of a Voyage to the United States: by A. Levasseur, Secretary to General Lafayette during his journey. Translated by John D. Godman, M. D.”

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled “An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned.” And also to the act, entitled, “An act supplementary to an act, entitled, ‘An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of the maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned,’ and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints.”

(Signed) D. CALDWELL,

Clerk of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

CONTENTS.

LAFAYETTE IN AMERICA.

CHAPTER I.

Maryland Cattle Show—Indian Deputation introduced to Gen. Lafayette—President’s Message—Extraordinary honours paid to the Nation’s Guest—National recompense presented by Congress.

On arriving at Washington, we went to dine with the president; and after reposing for twenty-four hours, we set out for Baltimore, where we were invited as members of the Agricultural Society to the annual meeting of the farmers of Maryland. The object of this society is the distribution of rewards and encouragements to all, who in the course of the year have made improvements in agriculture, or the arts of domestic utility. The different products are exhibited, without the names of their owners, and examined by a committee, upon whose report the society awards the prizes. The show appeared to be rich in products of every description. A great number of horses, cows, and sheep, remarkable for their beauty of form, proved how careful the Maryland farmers are in improving their stock. Models of agricultural implements, linen, cotton, canvass and woollen cloths, wines and grain, so arranged, as to be open to public examination, attested the spirit of investigation and improvement which pervades the industrious class of this rich state. General Harper opened the meeting by a very instructive discourse upon the progress and actual condition of agriculture in Maryland, and General Lafayette was charged with the distribution of the premiums. After these were delivered, the farmers were arranged in two lines, and General Lafayette passed between them, shaking hands with every one. We then gaily seated ourselves at table, where numerous toasts were drank, “to the nation’s guest,” “the farmer of La Grange,” &c. To these tributes of respect, the general replied by the following toast: “The seed of American liberty transplanted to other shores, smothered hitherto, but not destroyed by European weeds; may it germinate and grow afresh, more pure and vigorous, and cover the soil of both hemispheres.”

Before leaving Baltimore we visited several farms in the vicinity, at each of which General Lafayette took accurate notes of various improvements, whose application he thought would prove useful on his farm at La Grange. He especially admired a fine steam boiler,[^[1]] at General Harper’s farm, by which numerous flocks could be more abundantly and economically fed. Mr. Patterson presented him a young bull and two heifers of rare elegance of form, said to be of the English Devonshire breed. We also received from several other agriculturists, wild turkeys for the improvement of the European breed, pigs of singular size, figure, &c.; in short, every one wished to present some of his produce to the farmer of La Grange, who accepted them the more gratefully, because he saw in each of these presents means of rendering service to French agriculture.

On returning to Washington, we found the city much more animated than before our departure. The number of strangers and citizens from all parts of the Union, which usually assemble at the opening of congress, were collected this season in much greater crowds, attracted by the wish of being there at the same time with the nation’s guest, and to witness the inauguration of the recently elected president. The European ambassadors and ministers of the new states of South America, had returned to their posts, which they left during the fine season; Indian deputations had also arrived from the most distant forests, to make known the wants of their brethren to the American government. These deputations came to visit General Lafayette the morning after our return; they were introduced by Major Pitchlynn, their interpreter; at their head were two chiefs whom we had previously seen at Mr. Jefferson’s table during our visit to Monticello. I recognised them by their ears cut into long straps and garnished with long plates of lead. One of them, named Mushulatubbee, made an address to General Lafayette in the Indian language; after he had concluded, Pushalamata, the first of their chiefs, also addressed the general, congratulating him on his return to the land for which he had fought and bled in his youth, &c. This chief expired a few days afterwards: feeling the approach of death, he called his companions around him, requested them to dress him in his est ornaments and give him his arms, that he might die like a man. He expressed a desire that the Americans would bury him with the honours of war, and fire a salute over his grave, which was promised. He then conversed with his friends until he gently expired. He was very old and of the Choctaw tribe, as well as part of those who came to see General Lafayette; the rest were Chickasaws.

On his return to Washington, the general found messages from all the southern and western states, expressing the desire and hope of the people of those parts of the Union that he would visit them: the representatives of the different states who had come to sit in congress, daily came to see him, and spoke with enthusiasm of the preparations which their fellow citizens were already making to receive the nation’s guest.

He felt that it would be difficult, not to say impossible, to refuse invitations so feelingly and honourably expressed, and determined to accept them all; but on account of the advanced state of the season he could not re-commence his journey till the end of the winter; during part of which he would remain at Washington, where he could attend to the debates in congress. As these debates would not begin for some days, he determined to profit by the intervening time to visit all the members of General Washington’s family, residing in the vicinity of the capital. We first went to the house of one of his nieces, Mrs. Lewis, at Wood Lawn; this lady was brought up at Mount Vernon with Mr. George Lafayette, and time had not destroyed the fraternal friendship existing between them. She received us with great kindness, as did her husband and family. We remained four days at Wood Lawn, receiving the most delicate attentions, and departed charged with little presents, of great value to us, because they were almost all objects which had belonged to the hero of liberty, the immortal Washington.

As Wood Lawn is but a division of the ancient property of Mount Vernon, we had but a short walk to Judge Bushrod Washington’s. We then revisited Arlington, the residence of Mr. Custis, of whom I have heretofore had occasion to speak. His house, built according to reduced plans of the temple of Theseus, stands upon one of the most beautiful situations imaginable; from the portico the eye takes in, at one view, the majestic course of the Potomac, the commercial movements of Georgetown, the rising city of Washington, and far beyond the vast horizon, beneath which lie the fertile plains of Maryland. If Mr. Custis, instead of the great number of indolent slaves, who devour his produce, and leave his roads in a bad condition, would employ a dozen well paid free labourers, I am sure that he would soon triple his revenues, and have one of the most delightful properties, not only of the District of Columbia, but of all Virginia.

While General Lafayette was visiting his friends, congress commenced its session on the 6th of December, according to custom. The president’s message was received by both houses on the 7th at noon; and, on our return to Washington on the 8th, we read this political paper, always so important in the United States, but still more interesting this year, because it was the last great administrative act of an honest man; and its influence, perhaps, saved the republics of South America, I do not say from the intrigues, but at least from the attacks of Europe. Those who wish to learn how, in a legitimate government, the chief magistrate elected by the people renders an account of the sacred trust they have confided to him, should read Mr. Monroe’s message of the 6th December, 1824. They will there see with what candour this wise magistrate informs congress of all the acts of his administration, with what simplicity he speaks of his treaties with all the kings of Europe; with what frankness he exposes the wants, the resources, the situation of the state; but also with what courage and dignity he declares to the whole world that the republic, faithful to its engagements, will regard as a personal offence all attacks directed against its allies, and will always repel, with its whole power, the unjust principle of foreign interference in the affairs of the nation.

After the reading of the message committees were immediately appointed by both houses upon the various articles it contained. The committee charged with what related to the general, was requested to report with as little delay as possible. Other committees were appointed to arrange the ceremonial of the general’s public reception by congress; and, on the 8th of December the joint committee reported by Mr. Barbour to the house of representatives, that, in order to avoid difficulties, each house of congress should separately receive the nation’s guest. The senate then determined upon the manner in which General Lafayette should be received, and the committee was authorized to act as intermediary to the senate and him.

On the 9th Mr. Mitchell, in the name of the committees, proposed resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, that General Lafayette should be publicly gratulated by the house of representatives on account of his accepting the invitation of congress, and assured of the profound respect felt for his eminent services during the revolution, as well as of the pleasure caused by his return, after so long an absence, to the theatre of his exploits.

As soon as these resolutions were made known, the troops wished to parade, to give the reception of the nation’s guest by congress all the brilliance of military pomp; but General Lafayette, having learned their intention, requested them to relinquish it, as he considered it inconsistent, both with his character and situation, to appear before the national representatives surrounded by the pomp of arms; the troops, always delighted to do what was most agreeable to him, immediately laid aside their project. At half past twelve we went in carriages with the committee of the senate to the capitol; at ten o’clock precisely the doors of the senate were thrown open, and General Lafayette was led into the midst of the assembly by Mr. Barbour, president of the committee. On arriving at the centre of the hall, Mr. Barbour said, in a loud voice, “We introduce General Lafayette to the senate of the United States.” The senators standing uncovered received this annunciation with the most profound silence. The committee then conducted the general to a seat on the right of Mr. Gailliard, president of the senate; a motion to adjourn was made immediately after, that each senator might individually pay his respects to the general. This motion being carried, the senators successively left their seats, and approached him for that purpose. Thus terminated the business of the day.

The next morning, the general was again conducted to the capitol, by a deputation of twenty-four members of the house of representatives. The procession consisted of merely twelve coaches, but without escort, pomp, or decorations; our progress through the city was slow and silent. At the sight of the first coach, which contained the general, the citizens halted, removed their hats, but uttered no exclamation. This silence, this simplicity, was really impressive. We were conducted into the committee room until the session commenced; the public galleries were crowded from early in the morning; the seats were occupied by foreign diplomatists and most distinguished persons of the city. That part of the hall which is not occupied by the representatives, was, on this occasion, alone filled by ladies.

When the members had taken their seats, Mr. Condict proposed that the senate should be invited to attend, and the motion was carried by a large majority. The speaker then requested the members to pass to the right, in order to give place to the senators. The senate then entered and took their seats; a few minutes after, two members came for Mr. George Lafayette and myself, and conducted us into the hall, to a seat occupied by the public officers. A signal being then given, the doors were thrown open, and General Lafayette entered between Messrs. Mitchell and Livingston, followed by the rest of the deputation: the whole assembly arose and stood uncovered in silence. When the general reached the centre of the hall, the speaker, Mr. Clay, thus addressed him:

“General—The house of representatives of the United States, impelled alike by its own feelings, and by those of the whole American people, could not have assigned to me a more gratifying duty, than that of presenting to you cordial congratulations upon the occasion of your recent arrival in the United States, in compliance with the wishes of congress, and to assure you of the very high satisfaction which your presence affords on this early theatre of your glory and renown. Although but few of the members who compose this body shared with you in the war of our revolution, all have, from impartial history or from faithful tradition, a knowledge of the perils, the sufferings, and the sacrifices which you voluntarily encountered, and the signal services, in America and in Europe, which you performed for an infant, a distant, and an alien people; and all feel and own the very great extent of the obligations under which you have placed our country. But the relations in which you have ever stood to the United States, interesting and important as they have been, do not constitute the only motive of the respect and admiration which the house of representatives entertain for you. Your consistency of character, your uniform devotion to regulated liberty, in all the vicissitudes of a long and arduous life, also commands its admiration. During all the recent convulsions of Europe, amidst, as after the dispersion of, every political storm, the people of the United States have beheld you, true to your old principles, firm and erect, cheering and animating, with your well known voice, the votaries of liberty, its faithful and fearless champion, ready to shed the last drop of that blood which here you so freely and nobly spilt, in the same holy cause.

“The vain wish has been sometimes indulged, that Providence would allow the patriot, after death, to return to his country, and to contemplate the intermediate changes which had taken place—to view the forests felled, the cities built, the mountains levelled, the canals cut, the highways constructed, the progress of the arts, the advancement of learning, and the increase of population—General, your present visit to the United States is a realization of the consoling object of that wish. You are in the midst of posterity. Every where, you must have been struck with the great changes, physical and moral, which have occurred since you left us. Even this very city, bearing a venerated name, alike endeared to you and to us, has since emerged from the forest which then covered its site. In one respect, you behold us unaltered, and this is in the sentiment of continued devotion to liberty, and of ardent affection and profound gratitude to your departed friend, the father of his country, and to you, and to your illustrious associates in the field and in the cabinet, for the multiplied blessings which surround us, and for the very privilege of addressing you, which I now exercise. This sentiment, now fondly cherished by more than ten millions of people, will be transmitted, with unabated vigour, down the tide of time, through the countless millions who are destined to inhabit this continent, to the latest posterity.”

The profound emotion experienced by the speaker, which had visibly agitated him throughout his address, rapidly extended to the hearts of the auditors, each of whom waited, with benevolent anxiety, for the answer they expected the general would have ready in writing, for so solemn an occasion. But every one was agreeably surprised, to see him advance a few steps towards the speaker, cast upon the assembly looks of feeling and gratitude, and, after a few instants of recollection, deliver, in a sonorous voice, distinctly audible throughout the house, the following extempore reply:

“Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives—While the people of the United States, and their honourable representatives in congress, have deigned to make choice of me, one of the American veterans, to signify, in his person, their esteem for our joint services, and their attachment to the principles for which we have had the honour to fight and bleed, I am proud and happy to share those extraordinary favours with my dear revolutionary companions; yet it would be, on my part, uncandid and ungrateful, not to acknowledge my personal share in those testimonies of kindness, as they excite in my breast emotions which no words are adequate to express.

“My obligations to the United States, sir, far exceed any merit I might claim; they date from the time when I have had the happiness to be adopted as a young soldier, a favoured son of America; they have been continued to me during almost a half a century of constant affection and confidence; and now, sir, thanks to your most gratifying invitation, I find myself greeted by a series of welcomes, one hour of which would more than compensate for the public exertions and sufferings of a whole life.

“The approbation of the American people, and their representatives, for my conduct, during the vicissitudes of the European revolution, is the highest reward I could receive. Well may I stand firm and erect, when, in their names, and by you, Mr. Speaker, I am declared to have, in every instance, been faithful to those American principles of liberty, equality, and true social order, the devotion to which, as it has been from my earliest youth, so it shall continue to be to my latest breath.

“You have been pleased, Mr. Speaker, to allude to the peculiar felicity of my situation, when, after so long an absence, I am called to witness the immense improvements, the admirable communications, the prodigious creations, of which we find an example in this city, whose name itself is a venerated palladium; in a word, all the grandeur and prosperity of those happy United States, who, at the same time they nobly secure the complete assertion of American independence, reflect, on every part of the world, the light of a far superior political civilization.

“What better pledge can be given, of a persevering, national love of liberty, when these blessings are evidently the result of a virtuous resistance to oppression, and institutions founded on the rights of man, and the republican principle of self-government?

“No, Mr. Speaker, posterity has not begun for me, since, in the sons of my companions and friends, I find the same public feelings; and, permit me to add, the same feelings in my behalf, which I have had the happiness to experience in their fathers.

“Sir, I have been allowed, forty years ago, before a committee of a congress of thirteen states, to express the fond wishes of an American heart; on this day, I have the honour and enjoy the delight, to congratulate the representatives of the Union, so vastly enlarged, on the realization of those wishes, even beyond every human expectation, and upon the almost infinite prospects we can with certainty anticipate; permit me, Mr. Speaker and gentlemen of the house of representatives, to join to the expression of those sentiments, a tribute of my lively gratitude, affectionate devotion, and profound respect.”

I will not attempt to depict the deep impression produced by the reply of the general, and by this simple yet majestic scene on the spectators. I fear that it would be understood but by few. As regards my own feelings, I frankly avow, that I could not avoid drawing a comparison between this touching picture of national gratitude crowning the civic virtues, with those pompous ceremonies, in the midst of which the monarchs of Europe deign to show themselves, surrounded with the glitter of arms and the splendour of dress: the latter appeared to me only similar to some brilliant theatrical representation, which it would be gratifying to behold, if we could forget that they but add to the misery of the people.

After these testimonies of devotion and feeling, hitherto unknown in the history of nations, thus tendered by congress to General Lafayette, it might have been supposed, that all marks of national gratitude were exhausted. But, in compliance with the message of the president, and above all, with the expression of public opinion which was daily manifested in the public prints and in private letters addressed from all parts of the Union to the members, congress still conceived that more remained to be done, and hastened to appoint a committee to devise a mode of presenting to General Lafayette a recompense worthy of the nation which tendered it. This committee reported a bill on the 20th of December, in which, after detailing the services rendered by Lafayette to the American nation, and the sacrifices he had made in the achievement of its independence, they proposed that the sum of 200,000 dollars, and the fee simple of a tract of land of 24,000 acres, to be chosen in the most fertile part of the United States, should be offered as a compensation and testimony of gratitude. This proposition was received with enthusiasm by the senate, and it was believed that it would pass without discussion, when at the moment it was about to be sent to the house of representatives, a senator observed, “that he had no objections to make either to the sum about to be voted, or to the services for which it was given; that he yielded to no one in gratitude and friendship towards General Lafayette, whose virtues and services, he believed, could not be too highly recompensed; but thought that the proposed method was defective; that charged with the administration of the public revenues, he did not believe that congress was permitted to dispose of them otherwise than for the public service; he thought that each state might claim with justice, a right to testify its gratitude to Lafayette; finally, that he voted against the consideration of the proposition, to avoid establishing a precedent, the consequences of which might hereafter be fatal.”

The eloquence of Mr. Hayne easily triumphed over this opposition, arising from a scrupulous attention and care of the public finances, and the bill having been a third time read, was almost unanimously adopted. Seven votes only were in the negative; and it was universally known that even those who opposed the bill, were among the warmest friends and partizans of the general. Motives of public expediency, and, with some, the habit of opposing every novel measure of finance, were the only reasons for their course of conduct.

The proposition was received with equal warmth and good will in the house of representatives. As soon as the committee presented their report, all other business was postponed, and the consideration of the bill commenced. The discussion that ensued, as in the senate, fully recognized the rights of the general to national gratitude, and only turned on the legality of the proposed plan. After the third reading the bill was passed by an overwhelming majority.

During these discussions in congress, General Lafayette, who was wholly ignorant of their existence, was at Annapolis, whither he had been invited by the legislature of Maryland. It was not until the day after his return to Washington, that the two committees of the senate and the house of representatives waited on him, to acquaint him with the resolutions of congress.

Mr. Smith, the chairman, presented him the act, and observed that the congress of the United States, fully appreciating the great sacrifices made by the general in the cause of American Independence, had taken that opportunity of repaying a part of the vast debt owed to him by the country.

General Lafayette was greatly embarrassed on hearing this munificence of congress towards him. He was at first tempted to refuse it, as he thought the proofs of affection and popular gratitude which he had received from the moment of his arrival in the United States, were a sufficient recompense for all his services, and he had never desired any other. But he nevertheless felt, from the manner in which this offer was made, that he could not refuse it without offending the American nation, through its representatives, and he therefore immediately decided upon accepting it. He replied to the committee with his usual promptness and feeling, assuring them of the deep gratitude he felt, as an American soldier, and as an adopted son of the country, for this as well as other marks of affection that had been bestowed upon him.

This act of congress was soon spread, by means of the public journals, through all parts of the Union, and was every where received with unanimous approbation. Some states even wished to make an addition to these grants of congress. Thus, for example, Virginia, New York, and Maryland, were desirous to heap additional favours on the guest of the nation. It required all the determined moderation of the general to repress this excess of gratitude, which would have ended in placing at his disposal all the funds of the United States; for if the states had once engaged in this struggle of generosity, it is difficult to say where it would have ended.

Nevertheless, the newspapers, the organs of public opinion, in applauding these acts of congress, attacked, with a severity which distressed General Lafayette, those few members of the senate and house of representatives, who had voted against the national donation. These attacks, in fact, were the more unjust; for, as I have already said, the majority of the opponents of the measure were personal friends of the general, and wholly devoted to his interests; but in voting, not against the proposition, but against its form, they remained faithful to a principle they had always adopted, of not disposing of the public funds for other purposes than those of the public service. Some of them deemed it proper to explain this to the general. “Not only,” said they, “do we partake of the gratitude and admiration of our fellow citizens towards you for the services you have rendered us, but we also think that the nation can never repay them, and yet twenty-six of us voted against the proposition in congress.” “Well,” replied the general, in taking them cordially by the hand, “I can assure you, that if I had had the honour of being your colleague, we should have been twenty-seven, not only because I partake of the sentiments which determined your votes, but also because I think that the American nation has done too much for me.” This reply soon appeared in all the journals, and, as may be supposed, only added to the popularity of him who made it.

I have already observed that during the deliberations of congress, General Lafayette had accepted the invitation of the legislature of Maryland, who also wished to bestow on him the honour of a public reception. We left Washington on the 16th of December, accompanied by Dr. Kent, Mr. Mitchell, members of the house of representatives from Maryland, and a detachment of volunteer cavalry. On our route, we visited the family and beautiful farm of Capt. Sprigg, ex-governor of Maryland, and arrived at Annapolis in the afternoon. The deputies of the city met the general at a great distance from it, notwithstanding the badness of the weather, and the troops had advanced as far as Miller’s Hill. Another corps of militia had marched from Nottingham, which is thirty miles from Annapolis. The storm had retarded its arrival, but had not damped the zeal of the citizens. At Carrol’s Lane, about two miles from the city, the general, notwithstanding the remonstrances that were made, descended from the carriage, and with his head uncovered, returned thanks to the troops for the affection they testified towards him. “They have exposed themselves to the severity of the weather on my account, and I cannot permit it to deter me from returning them my thanks,” observed he. At the limits of the district an interesting meeting took place between him and some soldiers of the revolutionary army, several of whom had assisted in carrying him from the field of battle at Brandywine, where he had been wounded. Twenty-four discharges of cannon, and the display of the national flag on the state house, announced his arrival in the city.

Conducted into the hall of the legislature, which was filled with persons of distinction and soldiers of the revolution, he was led to a seat, where he listened to a discourse from the mayor in the name of the city. In his reply, he alluded to the fact, that Annapolis had been the scene of events for ever memorable in the annals of the United States; it was within its walls that Washington had laid down a power conferred on him by the nation; and the inhabitants of that city had always been worthy, by their patriotism, of being the witnesses and participators of this noble act.

The next day, Friday, 17th December, the militia of the county, the volunteer battalion of Annapolis, and the United States artillery were reviewed by him, displaying great discipline and soldierly precision in their manœuvres.

The following Monday, he received from the legislature of the state, a repetition of the same honours bestowed on him a few days previous by the congress of the United States. The day terminated by a public dinner, at which all the senators and representatives were present, and by a ball given by the mayor of the city.

Annapolis is a city of about 2500 inhabitants, handsomely situated on the river Severn, which empties into the Chesapeake Bay. It is the seat of government of the state of Maryland, but will never become an important place, at least from its commerce, which is wholly absorbed by the port of Baltimore.

In returning to Washington, we went by Fredericktown, where the general was received with enthusiasm by the population, and by a great number of his former companions in arms, among whom he recognized Colonel M‘Pherson, with whom we lodged. At the public banquet given him by the town, the table was lighted by a candelabra supporting an immense quantity of candles, the base of which was an enormous fragment of a bomb shell used at the siege of Yorktown.

Fredericktown is, next to Baltimore, the largest city in Maryland. It is situated in the heart of a fertile country, on the west bank of a small stream called the Monocacy. Its population, which does not amount to more than 3000, are generally engaged in manufactures.

CHAPTER II.

Election of the President—Public character of the President—Public officers—Congress—Grand public dinner on the 1st of January.

When we landed at New York, in the month of August, the people of the United States were occupied in the choice of a new political chief. This choice takes place every four years. It is always accompanied with much popular excitement, which may be readily conceived, as it equally interests every individual. Nevertheless, this excitement does not occasion any tumults. Since the adoption of the constitution, the nation has at nine different times elected a president, and always without the occurrence of any serious disturbance. The public prints, it is true, as organs of the opposing parties, become arsenals in which arms of all description and temper may be found, and which are oftentimes made use of in any thing but a courteous manner; but the exaggeration and violence of these journals are productive of no evil consequences, and never excite the people to transgress the laws.

The election of 1824 has, in common with the nine preceding, completely baffled the penetration of European politicians, who, with an assurance founded on ignorance and duplicity, predicted that the constitution of the United States was about to experience a shock, which it was impossible it could sustain, and that from the bosom of the turbulent democracy of America, would arise civil war and an overthrow of all civil order. These predictions were founded on the circumstance of the American nation having, until the present time, been able to restrict its choice to a few individuals, rendered dear to their country by their revolutionary services, whilst now it found itself obliged to enter on another list, and, consequently, to open the door to the ambitious and designing.

It was during the height of the excitement produced by the discussion of the presidential question that General Lafayette appeared on the American shores. This event, as if by enchantment, paralyzed all the electoral ardour. The newspapers, which, the evening before, were furiously combating for their favourite candidate, now closed their long columns on all party disputes, and only gave admission to the unanimous expression of the public joy and national gratitude. At the public dinners, instead of caustic toasts, intended to throw ridicule and odium on some potent adversary, none were heard but healths to the guest of the nation, around whom were amicably grouped the most violent of both parties. Finally, for nearly two months all the discord and excitement produced by this election, which, it was said, would engender the most disastrous consequences, were forgotten, and nothing was thought of but Lafayette and the heroes of the revolution.

On the evening of the day in which the president had received a notification that his successor had been appointed, there was a large party at his house. I had already been present at these parties, which are very striking from the numerous and various society there assembled, and by the amiable simplicity with which Mrs. Monroe and her daughters receive their guests. But, on this occasion, the crowd was so considerable that it was almost impossible to move. All the inhabitants of Washington were attracted by the desire of seeing the president elect and his competitors, who, it was taken for granted, would be present, and who, in fact, were so, with the exception of Mr. Crawford, who was detained at home by illness. After having made my bow to Mr. and Mrs. Monroe, to reach whom I found considerable difficulty, I looked with impatience for Mr. Adams and the other candidates. It appeared to me, that their being thus thrown together would prove extremely embarrassing to them, and I felt some curiosity to see how they would conduct themselves on the occasion. On entering one of the side rooms, I perceived Mr. Adams; he was alone in the midst of a large circle which was formed around him. His countenance was as open and modest as usual. Every instant persons pressed through the crowd to offer him their congratulations, which he received without embarrassment, and replied to by a cordial shake of the hand. At some distance, in the midst of a group of ladies, was Mrs. Adams. She appeared to be radiant with joy; but it was easy to be seen that she was more pleased at the personal triumph of her husband than for the advantages or pleasures that would result to herself. Whilst I was attentively looking at this interesting scene, a tumultuous movement was heard at the door, and a murmur of satisfaction arose from the whole party; I soon ascertained the cause, in seeing General Jackson make his appearance. Every one pressed forward to meet him, and endeavoured to be the first to salute him. To all these effusions of friendship he replied with frankness and cordiality. I alternately scrutinized both Mr. Adams and the general, being curious to see how these two men, who the morning before were rivals, would now meet. I was not kept long in expectation. The moment they perceived each other, they hastened to meet, taking each other cordially by the hand. The congratulations offered by General Jackson were open and sincere; Mr. Adams appeared to be deeply moved, and the numerous witnesses could not restrain the expression of their satisfaction. Mr. Clay arrived an instant afterwards, and the same scene was repeated. This, perhaps, produced less effect than the former, as Mr. Clay having had fewer chances of success, was supposed to make less effort to maintain his self-command; but it fully demonstrated the wisdom of the nation in its selection of candidates. The generosity of character manifested by General Jackson entirely satisfied me of the futility of the menaces of the Pennsylvania militia. Whilst these reflections were passing through my mind, I met in the crowd two officers with whom I had dined at York, and whom I had remarked particularly for their zeal and excitement. “Well,” said I, “the great question is decided, and in a manner contrary to your hopes, what do you intend to do? How soon do you lay siege to the capitol?” They began to laugh. “You recollect our threats, then,” said one of them. “We went, in truth, great lengths, but our opponents disregarded it, and they acted properly; they know us better than we wished them to do. Now that is settled, all we have to do is to obey. We will support Adams as zealously as if he were our candidate, but, at the same time, shall keep a close watch on his administration, and according as it is good or bad, we will defend or attack it. Four years are soon passed, and the consequences of a bad election are easily obviated.” “Yes,” said I, “much easier than that of legitimacy or hereditary succession.” They left me, laughing heartily, and the next day no body spoke of the election.

When the ardour and zeal of the parties in favour of their peculiar candidates are considered, it might be supposed that the president of the United States was an inexhaustible source of benefit to his friends, and that his power was such, that he could at will dispense favours, places, and riches. To remove this error it is only necessary to turn to that article of the constitution which fixes the duties of the head of the government, and any one will be convinced that it leaves fewer means of corruption in his hands than are with us bestowed on the lowest prefect.

It will be seen that the constitution, in fixing in a precise manner the duties and power of the chief magistrate, has rather kept in view the welfare and interests of the nation, than the gratification of one individual and his family. Hence, the president is placed in such a situation, that whatever may be his personal character, it is impossible for him to injure the liberty, right, or honour of his fellow citizens. He does not, like some kings on the old continent, enjoy several millions of revenue, and immense estates. The law only allows him 25,000 dollars as a salary, but it is not by the sumptuousness of his equipages, by the splendour of a numerous guard, or by the number of his courtiers, that he maintains the dignity of his station.

As he cannot entrench himself behind the responsibility of his ministers, nor protect himself under the infallibility of his character, or the inviolability of his person, which the constitution does not guarantee, the president of the United States is obliged to be extremely circumspect in all acts of executive power, which are delegated to him alone; and the people are so firmly persuaded, that the functions of a chief magistrate are only to be fulfilled by incessant attention and labour, that they would be exceedingly astonished, and, perhaps, indignant, if the newspapers sometimes announced, that the president had been occupied on a certain day for two or even for three hours with one of his ministers.

If the difference which exists between the president of the United States and the kings of Europe are striking, that between the ministers of that republic and ours is not less remarkable. A minister of the United States has but 3000 dollars salary, no hotel, no furniture nor train of servants paid by the nation, no sentries at his door, no servants in a ridiculous dress to attend him when he goes in public, no privileges unconnected with his office, but, at the same time, no responsibility for his actions. Chosen by the president, he is in fact his instrument, and owes him all his time. As he has not under his orders a host of directors general, chiefs of division, and clerks of all kinds, at high wages, he is obliged himself to put his hand to the wheel, and truly to earn his salary, which is too small, it is true, to enable him oftentimes to give sumptuous dinners to members of congress; but is sufficient, nevertheless, for a wise and conscientious man, who well knows that it is only by his activity and probity, and not by intrigues and corruption, that he will fulfil the duties of his station, and repay the confidence reposed in him.

The habits of the American ministers are so simple, and differ so little from those of their fellow citizens, that nothing, absolutely nothing, in their exterior serves to mark them in public. During our first visit to Washington, when we wished to return the visits they had had the politeness to pay us, we were several times obliged to ask, not for their hotels, for we should not have been understood, but for their residences, although situated in the same street in which we were living. Sometimes, when we had knocked at the door of their houses, they have themselves opened them. We have often met them with their port folios under their arms, returning on foot from their offices to their respective houses, where a modest family repast awaited them. All this, doubtless, would appear very bourgeois with us, but in the United States, where the people think more of a good administration than the luxury and splendour of its administrators, it is thought natural and proper, and, I believe, with reason.

This extreme simplicity of the ministers extends to all other public officers, and is the true secret of that economy of government we so highly praise, and which, in all probability, we shall never attain.

A senate, and a house of representatives form the legislative power of the United States, power which emanates immediately from the people, and which counterbalances the executive power, so that if it should happen that the people, in a moment of error, should bestow the presidency on an incompetent or ambitious candidate, the injurious influence of such a man would be neutralized by that of congress.

Congress assembles on the first Monday in the month of December of each year, and continues in session according to the importance of the business before it, but rarely beyond the month of May. From the middle of November, the senators and representatives of the different states begin to arrive in Washington. Among them there are many who, to fulfil the duties of their appointment, have been obliged to traverse hundreds of leagues of uninhabited forests, and over most perilous roads. On arriving they lodge at a hotel, where they are obliged, in some instances, to sleep in a room with four or five of their colleagues. The table is open to all who reside in the house. It is usually there, after a frugal meal, that those interesting conversations occur, in which most part of the questions likely to come before congress during the session are amicably discussed. When the first Monday in December arrives the session opens, and business commences immediately, for all are at their posts. During the whole time every day is conscientiously employed by the representatives of the nation in the discussion of the dearest interests of the people. As soon as the session closes, each member returns to his constituents, and finds, in the reception they give him, the dearest recompense he can hope for, if he should have fulfilled his duty to their satisfaction.

The first of January was fixed upon by the two houses, for a grand dinner to General Lafayette. The representatives of the people wished to consecrate American hospitality, by seating the guest of the nation at a table at which the whole people could be present in them. Mr. Gailliard, president pro tempore of the senate, and Mr. Clay, speaker of the house of representatives, presided at the dinner. Mr. Gailliard had General Lafayette on his left, and Mr. Monroe the president of the United States on his right; who, overlooking on this occasion the rule he had made of never attending any public dinner, had accepted the invitation; Mr. Clay had on each side of him, the secretaries of the different departments. Among the guests, were General Dearborn, minister of the United States to the court of Portugal; Generals Scott, Macomb, Jessup, and our worthy countryman Bernard, by whose side I had the honour to be placed; Commodores Bainbridge, Tingy, Steward and Morris, as well as many other public officers of highest rank. Among the guests, General Lafayette had the pleasure of finding some of his old companions in arms. Captain Allyn of the Cadmus, who had recently arrived from France, was also present. The hall was decorated with great splendour, and the guests were animated by a feeling of union, which demonstrated how completely they considered this ceremony as a family festival.

It is in such assemblies, that the public feeling of a people can be studied, particularly where its representatives, chosen freely, and having no reason to flatter those in power, or to dissimulate, give a free vent to all their sentiments. After a variety of toasts, highly complimentary to the general, and to which he replied with great felicity, the entertainment was concluded with a universal wish of the guests that all the American people could have been present at it.

CHAPTER III.

Departure from Washington—American Feelings—Sea-Lion—Family of Free Negroes—Raleigh—Fayetteville—North Carolina.

About the first of February, General Lafayette had received from all the southern and western states such pressing invitations, that he could no longer hesitate as to what course he should pursue; and immediately we were all actively employed in determining our order of march, and the means of surmounting the difficulties which every one assured us, would be very great in a journey of this nature and length. We had, indeed, a distance of more than twelve hundred leagues to pass over, in less than four months, to enable us to be in Boston on the seventeenth of June, where the general had promised to assist at the celebration of the anniversary of Bunker’s Hill; and a part of the country through which we were obliged to travel, was scarcely inhabited, and the roads, rough and difficult, were imperfectly laid out.

But thanks to the experience of General Bernard, to the information of the post master general (M’Lean,) and to the assistance of the members of congress who were in Washington, Mr. George Lafayette was enabled to trace out an such an excellent itinerary, that his father had no fear of neglecting in his course any places of importance in the various states we had to visit, although most of these places were often many miles to the right or left of our main line of march; and his time was so exactly proportioned, that, unless prevented by sickness or some serious accident, we were to arrive in Boston on the day promised.

We neglected no precaution adapted to aid us in surmounting the obstacles which, in the opinion of every one, threatened us in the course of this new journey. The general’s friends could not think without fear of the fatigues and dangers to which, they said, he was about to expose himself. Mrs. Eliza Custis, of the Washington family, pressed him to accept of her commodious and easy carriage. We purchased good saddle-horses to substitute for the coach on very bad roads; reduced our baggage as much as possible, and on the 23d of February, at nine o’clock in the evening embarked upon the Potomac, which we descended to its outlet in the Chesapeake Bay, and thence proceeded to Norfolk, where we landed early on the morning of the 25th, after a pleasant passage of two nights and one day. On the day following we went to dine at Suffolk, a small village, where they waited for the general with all the eagerness and kindness he had hitherto met with at every step.

Favoured by a good road and pleasant weather, our march was very rapid. A few miles from Norfolk we were obliged to stop some time before a small, solitary inn upon the road, for the purpose of refreshing our horses. We were sitting in our carriage when the landlord presented himself, asked to see the general, and eagerly pressed him to alight for a moment and come into his house. “If,” said he, “you have only five minutes to stay, do not refuse them, since to me they will be so many minutes of happiness.” The general yielded to his entreaty, and we followed him into a lower room, where we observed a plainness bordering on poverty, but a remarkable degree of cleanliness. Welcome Lafayette, was inscribed with charcoal upon the white wall, enwreathed with boughs from the fir trees of the neighbouring wood. Near the fire-place, where pine wood was crackling, stood a small table covered with a very clean napkin, and covered with some decanters containing brandy and whiskey; by the side of a plate covered with glasses was another plate filled with neatly arranged slices of bread. These modest refreshments were tendered with a kindness and cordiality which greatly enhanced their value. Whilst we were partaking of them the landlord disappeared, but returned a moment after accompanied by his wife, carrying her little boy, about three or four years of age, whose fresh and plump cheeks evinced the tenderness and care with which he had been cherished. The father, after first presenting his wife, next took his child in his arms, and, having placed one of his little hands in the hand of the general, made him repeat, with much emphasis, the following: “General Lafayette, I thank you for the liberty which you have won for my father, for my mother, for myself, and for my country!!” While the child was speaking, the father and mother eyed the general with the most tender regard: their hearts responded to the words of their boy, and tears they were unable to suppress, proved that their gratitude was vivid and profound. Were I to judge from what I myself felt on witnessing this simple and yet sublime scene, General Lafayette must have found this one of the most pleasing moments of his life. He could not conceal his emotions, but having tenderly embraced the child, took refuge in his carriage, bearing with him the blessings of this family, worthy of the freedom they enjoyed.

The same day, shortly before reaching Suffolk, some negroes stopped us with an invitation to enter their cabin, situated on the road side, to see a very extraordinary animal, which they told us was a sea-lion. It was about seven feet long, covered with a hairy skin of the colour of the fallow deer, spotted with black: the size of its body near the shoulders was about that of a calf, from whence it diminished gradually till it terminated at the tail in large fins; its head was small, round, and slightly flattened, resembling a little that of the tiger; its mouth was furnished with long, strong and sharp teeth; its extremities were very short and had the shape of a hand; the fingers were united by a membrane capable of great extension, and armed with very strong and sharp claws. The negroes told us that in walking along the shores of Elizabeth River at low water, they perceived this animal upon the sand, where it appeared to have been left by the tide. As soon as it saw these men it moved towards them, but without any apparent hostile intentions. The negroes, however, ran away at first, whilst it followed them for some time, but at a slow pace, as it is easy to conceive on examining its short extremities, which appeared better adapted for swimming than walking. After having retreated a hundred steps, one of the negroes, who was armed with a musket, turned and fired at the animal, which received the charge in the flank, and almost immediately expired.[^[2]]

A few compliments accompanied with some small money made these poor negroes very happy, and we left them to go and visit a neighbouring habitation, which was said to belong to a large family of free blacks. The house was very well kept, both externally and internally; I was struck with the order and neatness which prevailed, as well as the fine appearance of the inhabitants, who seemed to enjoy a state of comfort and ease superior to that of most of our European peasantry. One of our travelling companions, a citizen of Norfolk, assured us that this family had more than doubled the value of their property some years, by their intelligence and industry. I invite those who still persist in believing that the negroes are incapable of providing for themselves in a state of freedom, to visit this family, which, however, is not the only one of the kind which could be found in the state of Virginia.

After stopping a few moments among the citizens of Suffolk, we continued on our route to Murfreesborough, where we were to lodge. Our late arrival had the appearance of a nocturnal journey. The bad condition and length of the road had tired our horses, and we thought for a while that we should be compelled to sleep at the foot of the hill on which the town is built. An enormous bonfire, lighted on a neighbouring mountain, whose light displayed our distressed situation; the illuminations of Murfreesborough, which exhibited the appearance of a city in flames; the noise of cannon resounding on our right, with the effect of battery on our flank; the cries of our escort; the whipping and swearing of our drivers, all was insufficient to stimulate our horses, which, sunk in the mud to their knees, appeared to have taken root, refusing to make the least exertion to draw us out of this sad situation, in which we remained about an hour. At length we arrived, and were very amply compensated by the cordial hospitality of the inhabitants of Murfreesborough, who neglected nothing to prove to General Lafayette that the citizens of North Carolina were not less sincerely attached to him than those of the other states.

From Murfreesborough, we went the next day to Halifax, where we crossed the Roanoak, in a ferry-boat, amidst the thunder of artillery which awaited the arrival of General Lafayette on the opposite shore. Halifax was formerly the head quarters of Cornwallis, during his campaign in North Carolina. It was there that the English chief adopted the resolution, which proved so unfortunate, of entering Virginia. We only slept at Halifax, and in two days, after travelling over frightful roads, reached Raleigh, a pretty little town, situated on the west bank of the river Neuse. It is the seat of government for North Carolina, and contains about two thousand seven hundred inhabitants, of which about fifteen hundred are blacks, both free and slaves. One of the most precious monuments of this town, is the superb statue of Washington, executed in marble by Canova. It is preserved, with the greatest care, in one of the halls of the capitol.

The governor of the state, officers of government, militia, and, in fine, all the population, were prepared to receive and entertain, with proper dignity, the guest of the nation. Such was the height of the prevailing enthusiasm, that, in spite of bad weather, a company of volunteer dragoons had marched nearly one hundred and fifty miles, to assist at this family festival. The gallant men who composed it, had solicited and obtained leave to perform, for this day, the duty of guard to Lafayette; and they had founded their pretensions upon the circumstance, that the county of Mecklinburg, to which they belonged, was the first in the state where independence was declared, during the revolution. “Whenever it becomes necessary to serve for liberty or Lafayette,” said they, “we shall always be found among the foremost.” Nothing was neglected by Governor Burton, in doing the honours of his dwelling to the national guest.

The morning of our arrival at Raleigh was near being marked by a very unfortunate accident. In one of the calashes which followed us, was General Daniel of the militia, and a young officer of his staff; their horses ran off, and, the driver not being able to guide them, dashed violently against the trunk of a tree. The force of the shock threw both the riders and the coachman to some distance, but the one most hurt was poor General Daniel, who lay almost senseless upon the spot. Our progress was immediately suspended, and General Lafayette, who, at the time, was a considerable distance in advance of the procession, hastily returned to assure himself of the nature of the accident. General Daniel already began to recover, when the hasty zeal of his friend, General Williams, was upon the point of placing him in greater danger than arose from the fall. This gentleman insisted upon his being immediately bled, and already held the fatal lancet in hand to proceed with the operation, when Mr. George Lafayette besought him seriously to forbear, representing that we had just left the table, and that a bleeding immediately after dinner might be attended with injurious consequences. After having rendered General Daniel the first attentions which his situation demanded, we had him carried to the house of a rich planter, whom we had visited in the morning, some miles off; and, the next day, our wounded friend joined us at Raleigh, entirely recovered from his fall, returning his warmest thanks to Mr. George Lafayette, for having averted the employment of the lancet.

I was, at first, much surprised to see this lancet drawn upon such an occasion, but one of our travelling companions informed me, that in the southern and western states, and especially in those where the population is widely scattered, the art of blood-letting is familiar to almost all the great planters. The difficulty of finding a surgeon at the moment of accident, often makes it necessary to bleed themselves, which they sometimes do so profusely, that the most hardy phlebotomists of the French school would be alarmed at the sight.

On the 4th of March, we arrived at the pretty little town of Fayetteville, situated on the western bank of Cape Fear river. The weather was dreadful, the rain pouring in torrents, notwithstanding which, the road for many miles in front of the town was covered with men and boys on horseback, and militia on foot. In the town, the streets were crowded with ladies elegantly dressed, hurrying, regardless of consequences, across the gutters, to approach the carriage of the general, and so occupied with the pleasure of beholding him, that they did not appear to notice the deluge which seemed ready to engulf them. This enthusiasm may be more readily conceived, when we consider that it was manifested by the inhabitants of a town, founded forty years ago, to perpetuate the recollection of services rendered by him whom they were this day honouring.

General Lafayette was conducted to the front of the town-house, where, upon an elevated platform, he was received and addressed by Chief Justice Troomer, on behalf of the town council. In the course of his harangue, the orator recapitulated, with enthusiasm, the obligations which America owed to Lafayette, retraced some of the persecutions to which he had been exposed in France and Austria, for having remained faithful to the cause of liberty and the rights of man, which he had been the first to proclaim in Europe, and concluded by drawing a forcible parallel between the young republics of the United States and the old monarchies of the ancient continent of Europe.

After General Lafayette had expressed his gratitude for the reception given him by the citizens of Fayetteville, and his sympathy for the sentiments of the orator, we were conducted to the residence of Mr. Duncan M‘Rae, where, by the attentions of Mrs. Duncan, our lodgings had been prepared in an elegant and commodious manner. The general was there received by the committee, appointed to supply all his wants. “You are here in your own town,” said the chairman of the committee to him, “in your own house, surrounded by your children. Dispose of all—every thing is yours.” Every moment of our short stay at Fayetteville was occupied by festivals of gratitude and friendship. Notwithstanding the bad weather, which never ceased to oppose us, the volunteer militia companies, assembled to render military honours to the last surviving major-general of the revolutionary army, would not quit the little camp which they had formed in front of the balcony of the house, whence the general could easily see them manœuvre. They were still under arms, on the morning of our departure, and we passed in front of their line on leaving the town. It was then that General Lafayette, wishing to give them an expression of his gratitude, alighted, and passing through the ranks, took each officer and soldier affectionately by the hand. This conduct excited the spectators to such a pitch of enthusiasm, that a great portion of the population, willing to prolong the pleasure of seeing him, accompanied his carrage a considerable distance on the road, and only quitted him when the sun was nearly set.

The commerce of Fayetteville is very flourishing, and must still increase from the vicinity of Cape Fear river, which is navigable to the sea. The products of the surrounding country consist principally of tobacco and grain. Its population is nearly four thousand souls, and increases with remarkable rapidity. Unfortunately more than a third of this population consists of slaves, who increase in the same proportion with the free inhabitants; a circumstance which will probably continue for some time to retard the full developement of its resources. What I here say of Fayetteville is applicable to the whole state of North Carolina, which, in a population of six hundred and forty thousand souls, has above two hundred thousand slaves.

The climate of North Carolina is said to be healthy, and very well adapted to every species of culture. Nevertheless, the part through which we passed did not present an agreeable aspect. We met with numerous pine forests overflown by the rivers which watered them; many sand plains, and but little cultivated ground; that which is cultivated producing only rice and indigo. The mountainous parts of the state are stated to produce abundant crops of wheat, rye, barley, oats, Indian corn, tobacco, hemp and cotton. This last article, when prepared for manufacturing, is produced in the proportion of one hundred and fifty pounds for each slave.

It is also in the highest grounds where native gold is found in considerable quantity. It is obtained by simply washing the earth. Its purity is very remarkable, having been found twenty-three carats fine, and superior in quality to the American or English gold coins. The pieces are of various weights. The heaviest yet found weighed nearly five pounds. In 1810, the mint of the United States received one thousand three hundred and forty-one ounces, the value of which amounted to twenty-four thousand six hundred and eighty-nine dollars. In Montgomery county, many persons live by hunting for this metal. Every one has permission to seek, upon condition that he gives half he finds to the owner of the soil.

Notwithstanding all its rich resources, North Carolina appeared to me one of the least advanced of all the states we have hitherto visited. Slavery, in my opinion, should be regarded as the principal cause of this condition. Its constitution, though in general founded upon those of the other states, differs from them in some points, and retains some traces of aristocracy. Thus, for example, to be elected a senator, a person must be owner of three hundred acres of land; to be a representative, he must possess one hundred: finally, no man can be elected governor unless he be the free proprietor of an estate yielding one thousand dollars. In the midst of promises of religious liberty, the constitution of North Carolina has nevertheless the misfortune to have preserved an unhappy distinction between sects: thus, any man who denies the truth of the protestant religion, can have no pretensions to any public employment.[^[3]] I am well aware that in a government which supports no established order of clergy, the inconvenience of such a distinction is not so great, but it is nevertheless a serious blow aimed at the equality established and recognized by law. A wrong of still more consequence in this state, is that of having so long neglected the means of propagating primary instruction. In 1808 the legislature first ordered schools to be provided at the public expense. But in spite of the defects which I have pointed out, the inhabitants of North Carolina, from their patriotism, are unquestionably worthy to form a part of the great confederate family of the United States. To prove this, it will be sufficient to cite one fact, which is, that during the revolutionary war, the enemy could never procure a pilot upon the coast of this state. I might add, that the brilliant successes which attended the battles of Briar Creek in 1779, of Waxhaws in 1780, and of Guilford in 1781, were due to the militia of this state.

CHAPTER IV.

Entrance into South Carolina—Route from Cheraw to Cambden—Monument erected to Baron de Kalb—Road from Cambden to Charleston—Rejoicing in Charleston—Colonel Huger—History, Institutions, and Manners of the South Carolinians.

Twenty-four hours after our departure from Fayetteville, in the midst of a pine forest, we met the deputation of the state of South Carolina to General Lafayette. This meeting took place on the confines of the two states. Our kind and amiable travelling companions from North Carolina delivered us to their neighbours, with the most lively expressions of regret at a separation which cost us as much as them, and we continued our route in new carriages, with a new escort of friends, till we arrived at Cheraw, a pretty little town, which, three years previous, had not more than four houses built, and now contains about fifteen hundred inhabitants. The next day’s journey was long and difficult; sometimes, indeed, the road was almost impassable, being, in some places, entirely cut up by the overflow of rivers, whilst in others we could only cross the marshes by moving gently over a road formed of badly arranged trunks of trees. In fact, we travelled so slowly, that night overtook us on the road, and it soon became so dark that many of the gentlemen of our escort lost the road, and not being able to trace it in the sand, wandered into the forest. The carriages of the party also began to stray from each other, and towards ten o’clock Mr. George Lafayette and myself discovered that the one we rode in was at a great distance behind the others. A few minutes after we felt a violent shock, and heard a loud crash. Our carriage tongue was broken, and we were left in the midst of the marsh. Our situation was extremely disagreeable, and we should have had some difficulty to escape from it but for the assistance of two dragoons who had never left us, and who obliged us to mount their horses, which, after some minutes, brought us in sight of the fires of the guard surrounding the house that was to serve us for an asylum, where the general had arrived an hour before. In this house, which stood altogether alone in the midst of the woods, we were well accommodated. We had an excellent supper, and good beds, in which we might probably have slept soundly but for the trumpet, which was sounded all night for the purpose of rallying our scattered escort.

On arising, an entirely novel scene was presented to my view. We were in the midst of what is called in America a new settlement, that is to say, a clearing or erection of a new habitation in the woods. The house in which we had passed the night was the only dwelling in the place, and it was still unfinished. By its side they had begun to raise the frames of some other buildings, doubtless intended for granaries and stables. Numerous trunks of half hewn trees collected together showed that it was the intention of the owner soon to erect other buildings, and already the forest was prostrated to a considerable extent. But a few vast trees were standing in the clearing, whose branches were not only lopped off, but some of them were deprived of their bark, and blackened for their whole length by the action of the flames which had been employed to burn the brush about them. It is difficult to imagine any thing more desolate than such a scene. “It is, nevertheless, in this way,” said one of our travelling companions, “that all our little towns, which are so attractive and lively, begin. Cheraw, where you slept yesterday, and with which you were so much pleased, but a few years ago resembled this, and, perhaps, should you return in four or five years, you may here find another Cheraw. See,” continued he, taking me to a part of the forest which the axe and the fire had still spared, “with what care and skill the founder of this future city has laid the basis of a fortune which he anticipates enjoying in a short time. Look at this lot of several acres, surrounded by a strong fence, in which his cows, horses, and hogs are enclosed. These last named animals, raised thus at large, and in the enjoyment of abundance of food, soon multiply without number, and afford him a certain part of his subsistence. The next year, that portion of his land which comes to be cleared, will probably yield him a rich harvest of corn or rice; but the proprietor, whilst waiting for the growth of his crops, is obliged to obtain his bread by trading, and pays for it in turpentine, collected from the enormous pines which surround him. A small notch cut in the body of the tree, gives issue to a liquid which is received in a trough. Three thousand trees furnish annually seventy-five barrels of turpentine. But it is not only the young and vigorous trees which contribute to his wants; he has recourse also to those time has destroyed. From the dead trees he extracts tar, obtained by burning the wood upon a grate, a kettle being placed beneath to receive the boiling liquid. Sometimes from the plants which he clears away from around his house, he obtains a considerable quantity of potash, which still augments his wealth. Every year sees the cleared land increase around him, and soon other settlers, encouraged by his success, place themselves about him, and assist in erecting the new village, in which he may be permitted to enjoy the public employments conferred by his fellow citizens as a tribute to his talents and patriotism.”

Whilst we were thus engaged in casting a rapid glance over the resources of our host and his future destinies, General Lafayette concluded the preparations for his departure, and, at a signal given by the trumpets, we resumed our journey, passing through the sands and pines on our way to Cambden, where we were to lodge. The weather had changed during the night, and our march was now favoured by a clear sky. Although it was the month of March, we felt the heat of the sun considerably, and every thing around bore the appearance of advanced spring. On approaching Cambden, where we saw a considerable number of well cultivated gardens, we were a good deal surprised to find the trees in flower, and the balmy air perfumed by the plants, as in France during the month of June.

Cambden is not a large town, containing only about two hundred inhabitants. We nevertheless found there a very numerous population, collected from more than eighty miles around, to receive General Lafayette, and assist in laying the corner stone of a monument which they were about erecting to the memoir of Baron de Kalb. General Lafayette was received a little in advance of the town, near the old quarters of Cornwallis, by all the citizens under arms, and was conducted with great pomp, and in the midst of companies of young ladies, to the dwelling prepared for him, where he was addressed by Colonel Nixons, Jr. with a remarkable warmth of feeling. The attentive crowd applauded the orator with transports, when he told the general that his visit to the United States had added a new page to history, and that the splendour of Greek and Roman triumphs faded before the unanimity and harmony of this popular ovation.

On the morning of the next day, a long procession, formed chiefly of free masons, followed by the civil authorities and deputations from the different associations of South Carolina, came to the general’s lodgings, and conducted him with solemn music towards the spot where De Kalb’s funeral ceremony was to be performed. There the consecration of the monument raised by the generous inhabitants of South Carolina to unfortunate bravery, was performed. An inscription, in a style at once noble and unaffected, reminds the country of the services and glorious end of De Kalb.

It is well known that De Kalb was a German, who, after he had served a long time in France, came to America, like Lafayette and Pulaski, to offer his services in the cause of liberty. He was second in command in General Gates’s army during the unfortunate affair of Cambden, where the Americans were completely defeated. He had performed prodigies of valour at the head of the Delaware and Maryland troops, when, towards the close of the battle, he fell from his eleventh wound, an event which deprived the American cause of one of its most able and devoted defenders.

After his remains, which had been carefully preserved, were deposited in the monument, and had received military honours, the stone which was to cover them was laid by General Lafayette. It contained the following inscription:—This stone was placed over the remains of Baron De Kalb by General Lafayette, 1825.

The hand of the general resting upon the stone, followed it as it slowly and gradually descended, whilst the multitude, in religious silence, contemplated the French veteran, after almost half a century, rendering the last offices to the German soldier, in a land which they both had moistened with their blood, and which their arms had contributed to set free. How many glorious and painful recollections must this scene have awakened in the mind of Lafayette! Alas! during his long triumph, how many tombs was it his lot to visit, from that into which he descended at Mount Vernon, to the one soon to be raised at Bunker’s Hill!

The ceremony concluded by a discourse from the general, in which he paid to his old companion in arms, that tribute of esteem which was due to his civil virtues, his military talents, and undaunted courage, in defending the cause of freedom.

We left Cambden on the 11th, to go to Columbia, the capital of the state of South Carolina. This town is pleasantly situated upon a fertile and healthy plain, on the shore of the river Congaree. We found all the streets, through which the general and his escort were to pass, ornamented with flags and triumphal arches. Upon one of these, three young and beautiful girls supported flags, upon each of which were inscribed, in letters of gold, the names of Lafayette, De Kalb, and Pulaski. Under another, placed near the house we were to occupy, the general was met and addressed by the mayor of the town, a young man of distinguished talents, who, during our stay at Columbia, paid us the most kind and delicate attentions. Governor Manning also addressed the general, in the presence of the people assembled in the legislative hall of South Carolina, and both the evening and morning were devoted to public rejoicings.

The first evening, after having passed through the streets, which were brilliantly illuminated, we paid a visit to the academy, under the superintendence of the celebrated Dr. Cooper. We were agreeably entertained by the professors, who are all of the first merit. Two of them spoke French with great fluency. They informed us, that they had resided a long time in Paris, where they were proud to have acquired that knowledge which they were called upon to impart to their pupils. The next day, several companies of militia, among which a corps formed by the students of the academy, under the name of Lafayette Guards, were distinguished, came to exercise under the general’s windows. We passed the remainder of the day, in the midst of some of Lafayette’s veteran companions in arms, who took a pleasure in recalling to his memory, the times in which they had fought and suffered with him for the independence of their country. In the evening, at a ball, rendered remarkable by the beauty of the ladies gracing it, as well as for the good taste displayed in the arrangements, we made acquaintance with a young lady who inspired us with the most lively interest. She was the wife of one of the professors. Born in Paris, she had only been transplanted into this new soil about three months, in the midst of manners which at first were altogether strange, but with which she now appeared perfectly reconciled. She was introduced to the general, who received her with great kindness. Towards the close of the evening, her French and American feelings, strongly excited by the testimonials of friendship and admiration she saw lavished upon Lafayette, suddenly broke forth in transports which she was unable to suppress. “Heavens!” exclaimed she, “how proud and happy I feel, to-day, in being a native of France, and of the same country with General Lafayette!” Then, after having sprung towards the general and kissed his hands, she returned to me with great animation, and said: “Tell the general’s family, I beseech you, how happy we should be to receive them here as we have received him! And say to them, that for myself, I feel for the children of La Grange the friendship of a countrywoman, and for Lafayette himself the gratitude of an American.” This scene made a lively impression upon all who witnessed it, and the general thanked the young lady with all the ardour of a strongly agitated heart.

On the 14th of March, we set out for Charleston, intending to lodge some miles from this city, as General Lafayette was not to make his entry until the 15th. An escort of Columbia volunteer cavalry were formed in line before the door, at the moment of our departure, anxious to accompany the general all the way to Charleston; but he thanked them, and insisted that they should not leave the town, as the road he had to travel was both long and difficult, and there was moreover the appearance of a heavy rain. It was, in fact, at a very late hour that we arrived at our destination. The night and the rain caught us in the midst of a thick forest, across which it was difficult to find our narrow and devious way. About nine o’clock in the evening, the carriage I rode in broke down. That of the general, which went before with the governor and some officers of his staff, continued its route without perceiving the accident; but that of Mr. George Lafayette, which at this time happened to be in the rear, found its passage obstructed, and the horses taking fright, plunged amongst the trees, where it stuck fast. Mr. George, and his travelling companions, Colonel Preston and the Mayor of Columbia, immediately alighted, and, by main strength, dragged their carriage before mine. They offered me a seat along with them to continue the journey, directing the servants to mount the horses and go in search of light and assistance to repair the broken vehicle. I accepted their offer, but had scarcely joined them, when Colonel Preston, who had taken the reins, deceived by the darkness, carried us into the thickest of the woods, and in such a situation, that we must have infallibly upset had we proceeded a step further. Nothing was left for us now, but to remain nearly an hour, under a driving rain, for the return of the servants, who brought with them great pine torches. They now assisted us out of our embarrassment, and at eleven o’clock at night, wet and extremely fatigued, we reached the house of Mr. Izard, where we found the general and his companions, who had arrived a long time before. The hospitable table of Mr. Izard, his kind reception and that of his family, soon made us forget our misfortunes, at which we were the first to laugh over the dessert.

That the citizens of Charleston, who had made immense preparation to receive the guest of the nation, might not be kept waiting, we resumed our journey at a very early hour. At the moment when we were preparing to take leave of the family of Mr. Izard, we saw an escort of volunteer cavalry arrive from the city, with which we immediately set out. In proportion as we advanced towards Charleston, the monotony of pine forests disappeared. Our eyes now rested with pleasure upon clusters of verdant and beautifully shaped saplings, among which superb magnolias were majestically elevated. The entrance to the city appeared to us like a delicious garden. The coolness of the night had condensed the perfumes from the orange, peach, and almond trees, covered with flowers, and embalmed the air. We stopped a few minutes to change the carriage and allow the procession time to form, when, on a signal given by a cannon, we commenced our entrance into Charleston.

The inhabitants of Charleston, as residents of the city which had received the young Lafayette on his first arrival on American ground, in 1776, were eager to prove that no where more than among themselves, had a stronger recollection of his devotion to the cause of liberty been preserved. Accordingly, the reception which they gave him may be compared, for the splendour of its decorations and public enthusiasm, to the finest we had seen in the principal cities in the United States. The militia of Charleston were joined by the militia from the most distant parts of the state. Some companies of volunteer cavalry had, we were told, marched fifty miles a day to take the post assigned them by their patriotic gratitude.

Among the various corps which left the city to meet the general, there was one which particularly attracted our attention. Its uniform was precisely similar to that worn by the national guard of Paris at the time of the French revolution. The language in which the men composing this corps sounded forth their vivat, when the general passed before them, showed us that they were Frenchmen, and we experienced a pleasing emotion on hearing our countrymen unite their voices with those of liberty and gratitude.

The French company joined the procession, and, actuated by a sentiment of extreme delicacy, the Americans ceded to them the place of honour, near the carriage of the general. The procession was soon increased by a great number of parties, composed of the clergy, association of Cincinnati, veterans of the revolutionary army, students of the different faculties, officers of the United States army and navy, judges of the different courts, children of the public schools, German, French, Jewish, and Hibernian beneficent societies, the association of mechanics, &c. &c. All these detachments were distinguished by the form, colour, and devices of their flags; and the rest of the population following on foot and on horseback, made the air resound with cries of Welcome, Lafayette, which sounds, for nearly two hours without intermission, were mingled with the thunder of cannon from the shipping in port, and the ringing of all the bells. But amidst all these expressions of public affection, that which penetrated the general’s heart most was the touching and generous plan adopted by the citizens of Charleston to share the honours of his triumph with his brave and excellent friend Colonel Huger.

It is well known that during his imprisonment in the fortress of Olmutz, General Lafayette was upon the point of being liberated by the devotion of two men whom the same generous feelings had associated in this dangerous enterprize. These were Dr. Bollman, a German physician, and young Huger, an American, son of a descendant of a French family proscribed by the revocation of the edict of Nantes, in whose house Lafayette was received on his first landing in Charleston. A series of unfortunate incidents caused the failure of this generous attempt, which nearly cost them their lives, and occasioned Lafayette to be treated, by his keepers, with increased severity. Upon his release from the Austrian dungeons, young Huger returned to his country, where he found, in the esteem of the public, the reward of his noble and perilous enterprize. At present the father of a family, a planter, and colonel of militia, he lives retired and generally beloved, on a fine estate within a few leagues of Charleston. General Lafayette had already enjoyed the pleasure of pressing him to his grateful heart, upon his arrival at New York. When we entered Charleston, his fellow citizens insisted upon his taking a place by the side of the nation’s guest, in his triumphal car, where he shared the public felicitations and plaudits. At the feast, at the theatre, or ball, every where, in fact, the name of Huger was inscribed by the side of that of Lafayette, upon whom the citizens of Charleston could confer no greater favour, than by testifying such a high degree of gratitude for one who had formerly exposed himself in attempting to restore him to liberty.

After the procession had passed through all parts of the town, it halted at the court-house, where the mayor, at the head of the municipal authorities, and in the presence of the people, addressed General Lafayette.

The acclamations of the people followed the words of the orator, and the reply of the general, who, with an eloquence rendered more impressive by the grateful feelings of his heart, recalled the ancient obligations which he owed the citizens of Charleston, the noble devotion of the ladies of this patriotic city, and the courage of the Carolinians during the whole course of the revolution.

Colonel Drayton also addressed the general on behalf of the association of Cincinnati, after which we were conducted to the sumptuous lodgings prepared for us, where, during the whole of the next day, the general received the visits of all the corporations of the city. The company of French fusileers we had observed on entering the city, presented themselves first, the martial music at its head, saluting the general with the two patriotic airs of Yankee Doodle and the Marseillois. Mr. Labatut and one of his companions then addressed the object of their homage, after which the company filed off before him, blending with the military honours they paid him, testimonies of the most tender affection. When the general complimented the officers on the fineness of their discipline, and good taste of their uniform, “We could not,” said they, “have chosen one more honourable. Lafayette and our fathers wore it in the glorious days of liberty in our country, and it incessantly reminds us that the first duties of an armed citizen are, the maintenance of public order, and the defence of the rights of man.” We passed among these brave men some delicious moments, consecrated to the recollections of our country. All spoke of it with tenderness and enthusiasm, all expressed ardent wishes for her happiness. Among them were some exiles!

Shortly after the French company had retired, we saw all the members of the clergy arrive, assembled under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Farnham, whom they had chosen for their orator. Among them were seen Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Jews, Roman Catholics, and German and French Protestants. To witness their touching union, and the testimonies of their reciprocal liberality, one might have thought that they all belonged to the same communion. I cannot introduce here the long and eloquent discourse of Dr. Farnham, but I can assert, that, like that pronounced by Bishop White of Philadelphia, it confirmed what I had heard of the liberality of the clergy, which, without the support of a government that seems ignorant of their existence, feels the necessity of conciliating public esteem by the practice of true virtue.

I pass over the account of the balls, displays of artificial fire-works, and entertainments given during our stay in Charleston, since it would be nearly a repetition of what I have already said in relation to so many cities. But, leaving the general surrounded by his old fellow soldiers, at the head of whom he still found the worthy General Pinckney, to be entertained with the glorious recollections of their youthful days, I shall attempt a rapid sketch of the history of South Carolina.

This portion of the North American continent was explored for the first time by Jean Ponce de Leon, the Spanish governor of Porto-Rico. Struck with the beauty of the vegetation, and the smiling aspect of the country, he gave it the beautiful name of Florida. But not finding either gold or silver mines, he gave up the plan of forming a settlement. For a long time this country was coveted by the kings of France, England, and Spain; but it was not till the year 1562 that France decided upon asserting her claims. At the request of Admiral Coligny, who was desirous of finding an asylum for the protestant party, a naval officer named Ribaut, a native of Dieppe, was despatched with two vessels and troops to survey the coast and form a settlement. Jean Ribaut landed at the mouth of a river, under the thirtieth degree of latitude, and established the right of possession by the erection of a stone column, upon which he engraved the arms of France. After remaining some time upon the coast, during which he entered into treaties of peace with the natives of the country, he arrived at the mouth of Albemarle river, where he formed his first settlement, which he called Carolina, in honour of Charles IX. He raised for its protection a small fort, which he garrisoned with about forty men, and leaving it under the command of one of his officers named Albert, returned to France. This governor being very severe in carrying into effect the discipline he had established, was soon murdered by his soldiers, who, anxious to return to their country, very soon embarked, and sailed for France. But scarcely had they lost sight of the coast when they experienced such a dead calm as kept them so long at sea that their provisions became exhausted; and they had already begun to devour each other, when they were met by an English vessel, which carried them to England, where queen Elizabeth made them relate to her, with their own lips, the account of their horrible adventures.

Two years afterwards, a new expedition sailed under the command of Réné de Landonnière, to establish and protect the colony; but whether owing to misfortune, or want of knowledge in the leader, the expedition was attended with the most melancholy results. The complaints of the colonists against Landonnière reached France, and determined the government to send out Ribaut to take charge of their affairs. This person was surprised at the mouth of May river by a Spanish squadron of six vessels, which attacked him so fiercely that he could only escape by entering the river. Determined to resist the Spaniards with vigour, Ribaut landed his men, carefully entrenched them, and going in search of the best troops of Landonnière, whom he left in Fort Carolina, with all those who were unable to bear arms, embarked again to pursue the enemy. But he was assailed during the night by a violent storm which drove his vessels upon the rocks. It was with the greatest difficulty that he and his companions gained the shore to surrender themselves to the Spaniards, by whom they were basely murdered without mercy. The sick, together with the women and children who remained in the fort, met with the same fate. Landonnière, and a few of his family, were all that escaped, and after a long time, succeeded almost by a miracle in getting back to France, where they carried the news of the melancholy end of their companions. By the court of France the horrible event was treated with indifference, but the public did not conceal its indignation, and many of the most influential men demanded vengeance. One of these, named Dominic de Gourges, a gentleman of Gascony, resolved upon being the avenger of his countrymen. He fitted out three vessels at his own expense, took on board two hundred soldiers and eighty marines, arrived at the mouth of the river May, where he showed himself under the Spanish flag, landed under this disguise without being recognized, marched rapidly upon Fort Carolina, of which, with two others, aided by the natives, he soon obtained possession, conquered the Spanish garrisons, razed the fortifications, and returned in triumph to France laden with booty. This daring enterprise struck terror into the Spaniards, and for ever disgusted them of Carolina, which, until the reign of Charles II. of England, was abandoned to all the nations of Europe.

It was at this time that the English government, who had previously made a settlement at the mouth of May River, under pretext of protecting some families who had escaped the tomahawk of the Indians in Virginia, took possession of all the country, situated between the 31st and 36th degrees of latitude, and granted it to eight gentlemen of the court, the king, as proprietary of the royal castle of Greenwich, reserving to himself supreme authority, together with the fourth part of all the gold and silver which might be found within the bounds of the territory. The celebrated Locke was appointed to prepare a charter for the new colony. By this constitution a species of royalty was transferred to the oldest of the colonists, supported by an aristocracy which exhibited the whimsical assemblage of lords, barons, landgraves and caciques, whose powers and pretensions incessantly coming into collision, were soon subjected to the tyranny of the palatine, for such was the title of the superior officer whose precedence was derived entirely from his age. This constitution, the abortive conception of a great genius, was destroyed in 1720. The population of the colony soon increased rapidly, in consequence of the political and religious persecutions, which at that period desolated Europe. It received, almost at the same time, English royalists, the parliamentists, and the non-conformists. France sent the choicest of her citizens, proscribed by the edict of Nantes. In 1730, the mountains of Scotland saw their vanquished inhabitants going thither in search of an asylum; and in 1745, it was further enriched by the arrival of Swiss and German emigrants. From this time Carolina began to be sensible of its strength, and to resist the abuse of power manifested by the English government. She refused to pay taxes imposed without her consent, and gave her sanction to the resolutions of the colonial congress, to which she sent deputies in 1765. Nevertheless, when, in 1775, it was resolved to break the chain which united Carolina to the mother country, a division of opinion occurred among the colonists, a considerable number of whom armed in favour of the British government. A civil war was near breaking out, when a very extraordinary occurrence led to the reconciliation of the parties. On the same day that hostilities commenced at Lexington in Massachusetts, despatches from England arrived at Charleston. The revolutionary committee seized the mail containing the letters addressed to the governors of Virginia, the two Carolinas, Georgia and East Florida, by which they were directed to employ the force of arms to reduce the colonies to subjection. About the same time, intelligence was received at Savannah, of an act of parliament, authorising these governors to deprive the colonists of the protection of the law and royal privilege, and confiscate their property.

These various accounts having been published by the committee, inspired all the citizens with the same sentiments of indignation, and the councils being immediately called together, the question was proposed, Shall we die slaves, or live free? The reply could not be doubtful. All swore to take up arms and defend their rights. Some indiscreet tories, who attempted to maintain possession of the country by the assistance of Indians, whom they had taken into pay, were soon annihilated by the patriotic militia, who, after a long and painful struggle against the English troops of Savannah, at length secured the independence of Carolina by the celebrated victory gained at Eutau Spring, in the year 1781.

It was in the midst of the troubles of war, in the year 1778, that Carolina formed her first constitution. This, though very much in conformity with the principles of the revolution, perhaps exhibited some indications of the haste with which it was prepared. It was revised, modified, and adopted in its present form, at Columbia, on the 30th of June, 1790. Such as it now is, it would be considered in Europe highly democratic; but, compared with the constitution of Pennsylvania, for example, and those of some other states in the Union, it appears altogether aristocratic. The conditions imposed upon the candidates for governor, senators, and members of the assembly, restrict the eligible to a very small number. The senators, chosen every four years, to the number of forty-three, must be at least thirty years of age, have resided in the state five years previous to the election, and possess an unincumbered property worth three hundred pounds sterling. Should the candidate not dwell in the district by which he is supported, his property must be worth a thousand pounds sterling.

The representatives, to the number of twenty-four, are elected for two years. They must be free white men, at least twenty-one years of age, and the owners of property worth one hundred and fifty pounds sterling, or instead, a plantation containing five hundred acres, and ten slaves. Should the candidate not reside in the district where he is supported, the value of his property is required to be five hundred pounds. He must be a citizen of the state, in which he shall have lived at least three years previous to the election.

It is obvious that both houses of the legislature are composed of a portion of the richest proprietors only. It is from this legislative power, blemished as it is with aristocracy, that the executive authority springs; for it is by the union of the two houses that the governor, in whom this power resides, is chosen. The conditions of eligibility for governor are very high, and restrict the choice to a very small circle. Every candidate for this office must be thirty years of age, a citizen of the state, in which he must have resided at least ten years previous to the election, and possess a clear estate worth fifteen hundred pounds sterling. The powers of the governor only continue for two years. The worst condition in the constitution is that imposing an obligation on the senators to own slaves. I am well aware that it must necessarily disappear before the abolition of slavery takes place, but does it not appear to be placed there as an obstacle to abolition? And might not the repeal of this article prove a salutary effort in favour of abolition?

As in all the other states of the Union, religious organization is in no way connected with government, which only guarantees to the various sects the free exercise of their religious rites, so long as such a privilege is unattended by licentiousness, or is compatible with the peace and security of the state. Ministers of religion are ineligible to the office of governor, lieutenant-governor, and member of assembly, so long as they continue in the exercise of their pastoral functions. The sects are numerous and variable, as one may easily perceive from the composition of the religious body that waited upon General Lafayette. It may, perhaps, have been observed, that it was only whilst speaking of the sects in South Carolina, that I mentioned the Jews. It is, in fact, in this state alone, that they appear sufficiently numerous to attract attention. Their number is computed at about twelve hundred, of whom the city of Charleston contains about five hundred, who, during the late war, distinguished themselves by their courage and patriotism, furnishing a company of sixty volunteers for the defence of the country. The rest of the United States contains little more than five thousand Israelites, the most of whom are of English and German origin. Those of South Carolina are more particularly of French and Portuguese descent. The synagogue in Charleston was built in the year 1794. Previous to this time the Jewish congregation of this city had only a small place for the exercise of their religious rites. According to Dr. Theact’s description of Charleston, the Israelites began to form into a society about the year 1750. As soon as ten of them had united, (for this is the number required by the Hebrew law for the public exercise of their religion,) they procured a place convenient for their purpose. The present edifice is spacious and elegant. The society that built it is called Kalh kadosh beth Eloem, that is to say, the religious society of the house of God. Kalh, or society, is the name common to the whole Hebrew congregation. The actual number of subscribing members is about seventy, which gives rather more than three hundred persons having the privilege of the synagogue, as well as the other advantages connected with this privilege. The society of Reformists amount to about fifty members, which, with their families, make above two hundred of this order.

South Carolina is situated between the 32d and 33d degrees of latitude. Its superficies contains about twenty-nine thousand square miles, the soil being very variable. From the coast of the Atlantic to about twenty-four miles within the interior, the country is a vast plain rising imperceptibly about two hundred feet above the level of the sea; its surface is divided into forests of pine, which grow in a sandy soil of little value; extensive morasses, which render the air insalubrious during the autumn; savannas, which produce only grass; and higher lands, which are adapted to the growth of cotton. Rice is cultivated with success near the rivers, whose inundations fertilize their borders. Beyond the plain the country is mountainous, productive, and more healthy than the lower districts, where the humidity of the rivers, and the changeableness of temperature during the whole season, render diseases very common.

This state contains 502,741 inhabitants, who may be divided into three classes; 237,460 free whites, 6,806 free blacks, and 258,465 slaves. It appears, that the number of slaves considerably surpasses that of the free whites, so that this state has begun to feel the inconveniences of slavery to such a degree, that fear has induced them to adopt measures of safety, which infringe both the laws of humanity and the rights of property. By a recent law, every traveller, who enters Carolina with a black servant, finds that he is immediately taken from him, imprisoned, and only returned to him when he is about to leave the state. What is the utility of this measure, is a question I find myself very much embarrassed to answer. It is, say they, to prevent dangerous communications, between the slaves of that state and the free black strangers, who never fail to talk to them of liberty.

This state of things in relation to slavery in South Carolina, is the more distressing from its singular contrast with the character of the inhabitants of that state. The Carolinians are particularly distinguished for the cultivation of their minds, the elegance of their manners, their politeness and hospitality towards strangers. This last virtue is so common in Carolina, that one finds very few taverns out of the large towns. Travellers may boldly present themselves at the houses of the planters which they find on their road, and are sure of being well received. The disposition to assist the indigent is so great at Charleston, that besides a great many private associations, they have five public charitable societies, whose revenues, already very considerable, are still daily increased by the liberality of the citizens.

The three days which General Lafayette passed at Charleston were marked by entertainments whose brilliancy and refinement delighted him; but of all the delicate attentions that were paid him, the most touching, perhaps, was the gift, made him by the city, of a beautiful portrait of his friend Colonel Huger. This beautiful miniature, of an appropriate size, unites the merit of perfect likeness with the most admirable execution. It strongly resembles the style of our celebrated Isabey, and would not have been disowned by him. It was executed by Mr. Frazer of Charleston, who already enjoys a great reputation in the United States, but has probably surpassed himself in this work. The frame of solid gold, is more valuable for the elegance and delicacy of the workmanship than the richness of its material. It came from the workshop of two artists of Philadelphia, and would have done honour to our most experienced French jewellers.

The governor presented the general, in the name of the state, with a beautiful map of South Carolina, enclosed in a rich case of silver. Many other persons came also to offer handsome keepsakes, which he gratefully accepted.

On the 17th of March he left Charleston, carrying with him the regrets of his friends, and the blessings of the people.

CHAPTER V.

Fort Moultrie—Edisto Island—Alligators—Savannah—Funeral Monuments—Augusta—State of Georgia.

The roads of South Carolina being generally very bad, the Charleston committee resolved to conduct the general by sea to Savannah, where he had been expected for some time. We embarked on the 17th of March, on board of an elegant steam-boat, prepared and well provisioned by the attentions of the committee, and took leave of the inhabitants of Charleston, who, assembled on the wharf and crowding the vessels, responded, by their acclamations, to the parting salutations of their guest. Before losing sight of Charleston, we directed our course towards Sullivan’s Island, upon which stands Fort Moultrie, which saluted General Lafayette with all its guns. This fort, commanding the pass by which the vessels are obliged to enter the port of Charleston, was defended with extraordinary courage by the Carolinian militia, on the 28th of June, 1776, against the English forces, superior both in numbers and experience.

The militia were commanded by General Moultrie, who, during the revolutionary war, sustained the highest reputation for the valour and ability with which he defended this important post. We afterwards continued our navigation between the continent and the islands which border it, and extend as far as Savannah. We landed on one of these, called Edisto, where General Lafayette was expected; but, as it was impossible for him to remain there more than two or three hours, the inhabitants, who were collected at one of the principal proprietor’s, decided to offer him at once all the festivals they had prepared for several days. We had, at the same time, the harangue, the public dinner, the ball, and even the baptism of a charming little infant, to which the name of Lafayette was given. We then rapidly traversed the island in a carriage, to join our steam-boat, which awaited us on the side next the ocean. What we saw of the island, in this short ride, appeared to us enchanting; the vegetation was particularly striking from its variety; odoriferous shrubs of the most elegant form, were agreeably interspersed among large forest trees; and, in the downs which border the sea-shore, we saw some beautiful palm-trees, which gave to the small dwellings they shaded an aspect altogether picturesque. This island, which lies at the mouth of Edisto river, forty miles south-west of Charleston, is twelve miles in length and five broad. It has been inhabited since 1700.

During the rest of our voyage to Savannah, we coasted the islands of Hunting, Beaufort, Port Republican, Hilton Head, &c.; and often through passages so narrow, that our vessel almost touched the land on each side, and had rather the appearance of rolling on the surrounding meadows, than of gliding on the water which disappeared beneath us It was nearly midnight when we passed Beaufort, and all on board were asleep; but we were soon awakened by the acclamations of citizens, who were waiting on the shore, and General Lafayette having arisen, yielded with readiness to their desire that he would land for some moments among them.

At sunrise, as we approached the mouth of the Savannah river, we began to see some alligators extended on the shore, or swimming round our vessel. Our captain shot one, and sent the boat for it. It was about eight feet long, and we were assured that it was but of a middling size; some of them extend to twelve feet, and sometimes even, it is said, to fifteen or eighteen. The size of their body is then equal to that of a horse. When of this size, the alligator is a formidable animal, from its prodigious power and agility in the water. Its form is nearly like that of a lizard; it differs from it only by its cuneiform tail, flattened on the sides, and which, from the root to the extremity, diminishes insensibly. Like all the rest of the body, it is covered with a scaly coat, impenetrable to all arms, even to a musket-ball.[^[4]] The head of an alligator of the largest size is about three feet; the opening of the jaws is of the same dimensions; its eyes are very small, sunken in the head, and covered; its nostrils are large, and so much developed at the summit, that, when it swims its head at the surface of the water resembles a large floating beam. Its upper jaw, only, is moveable; it opens perpendicularly, and forms a right angle with the lower jaw.[^[5]] On each side of the upper jaw, immediately below the nostrils, are two long and strong teeth, slightly pointed and of a conical form. They have the whiteness and polish of ivory, and being always exposed, give to the animal a frightful aspect. In the under jaw, just opposite these two teeth, are two sockets proper to receive them. When the alligator strikes his jaws together, it produces a noise absolutely like that made by slapping a board violently against the ground, and which may be heard a great distance.

When, on the morning of the 19th, we arrived in sight of Savannah, we perceived all the population on the shore, and the militia assembled, who had waited during several hours. We soon heard the majestic salute of the artillery, and the acclamations of the people. We replied to them by a salute from the guns of our vessel, and by the patriotic airs with which our music caused to re-echo from the shore. To this first feeling of pleasure caused by the reception of the citizens of Savannah, a sentiment of painful regret suddenly succeeded. We had to separate from our travelling companions of South Carolina. Among them were the governor of this state, several general officers, and some members of the committee who had received us at Charleston. The governor, faithful to the laws which inhibited his passing beyond the limits of the state, resisted all entreaties to induce him to land, and bade farewell to the general with all the emotion of a child who separates himself from a parent he is to see no more. Some minutes after, we were in Georgia, at the entrance of Savannah, where the general was received and addressed by Governor Troup, in the midst of an eager crowd. The triumphal car and arches, the acclamations of the people, the wreaths and flowers scattered by the ladies, the sound of bells and cannon, every thing proved to Lafayette that though he had passed into another state, he was nevertheless among the same friendly and grateful people.

A commodious lodging had been prepared in the elegant mansion of Mrs. Maxwell; thither they conducted General Lafayette with a grand escort. After he had reposed some moments, the mayor and council of the city came to compliment him, and the day was terminated by a public repast, at which the civil and military authorities of the state and of Savannah, the members of the bar, the clergy, and a great number of citizens, were present. After the thirteen usual toasts, the company offered many volunteer toasts, all strongly indicative of the patriotic and republican character which always distinguishes American assemblies. General Lafayette replied to the toast addressed to him, by the following: “To the City of Savannah—May her youthful prosperity prove more and more to the old world, the superiority of republican institutions, and of the government of the people by themselves.” A hymn to liberty, to the air la Marseillaise, terminated the banquet, and we returned to our quarters by the light of an illumination which blazed over all the city.

The next day, Sunday, the general received, at an early hour, the visit of the French and the descendants of Frenchmen residing in Savannah. At their head was Mr. Petit de Villers, who spoke in their name, and who, in a discourse fully expressive of the sentiments of his compatriots towards Lafayette, portrayed with ardour the benefits of American hospitality towards proscribed Frenchmen, forced by every kind of despotism successively to demand an asylum in the United States.

To the visit of the French, succeeded those of the officers of the different bodies; the clergy came afterwards; at their head was the reverend Mr. Carter, who, in complimenting the general, felicitated him above all, that his efforts in favour of American independence had also resulted in the establishment of religious liberty.

To his acknowledgments, general Lafayette joined the expression of his satisfaction in seeing America giving so good an example of true religious liberty to old Europe, which still enjoys a very limited toleration. “In religious, as in political societies,” added he, “I am persuaded that the election by the people is the best guaranty of mutual confidence.”

The citizens of Savannah had for a long time cherished the intention of paying a tribute of gratitude to the memory of General Greene, justly considered as the southern hero of the revolutionary struggle; and to that of General Pulaski, the brave Pole, who, despairing of the cause of liberty in his own country, came to sacrifice his life in the cause of American independence. They thought that the presence of General Lafayette would add to the solemnity of the ceremony, and resolving to profit by his sojourn at Savannah, obtained his consent to lay the first stone of the funeral monuments they intended to raise. Consequently, every thing being ready, they made the proposition, which he accepted with the more readiness and ardour, as he was gratified to have an occasion of publicly testifying his esteem for the character of General Greene, to whom he had been particularly attached.

The ceremony was strongly characterized by the association of those exalted religious and patriotic feelings, which particularly distinguish the actions of the American people. Agreeably to the resolution adopted at a meeting of the citizens, of which Colonel John Shellman was president, the masonic society, which was charged with all the details relative to the construction of the monument, formed itself into a procession on the 21st March, at nine in the morning, and moved to the sound of music, to the lodgings of General Lafayette. The high priest, the king and other officers of the royal chapter of Georgia, were decorated with their finest apparel and richest masonic jewels. Before them was carried a banner elegantly embroidered. When they marched with the general, the procession was augmented by the militia and citizens.

On arriving at the site of the destined monument, the troops formed a line to the right and left to receive the procession between them. The children of the schools uniformly dressed, and carrying baskets filled with flowers, which they scattered beneath the steps of General Lafayette, were already assembled. The people, collected in a crowd behind them, seemed placed there to protect their feebleness, and to present them to the nation’s guest. After a silence the most profound was obtained among the attentive crowd, the masons, and the monument committee arranged themselves at the west of the foundation, and the other part of the procession occupied the east. General Lafayette then advanced to the place prepared to receive the corner stone. He was surrounded by the grand master, the grand keepers, the chaplain, the grand priest, the king, and the secretary of the chapter of Georgia, the governor, Colonel Huger, George Lafayette, &c. A national air, executed by a band of musicians, announced the commencement of the ceremony. Then the president of the monument committee advanced, and delivered a very impressive and appropriate address, which he concluded by the following words.

“Very respectable grand master, in conformity with the wishes of my fellow citizens, and in the name of the monument committee, I pray you to celebrate, according to the rites of the ancient fraternity to which you belong, the laying of the corner stone of the monument we are about to raise to the memory of General Greene.”

After the orator had made this invitation, General Lafayette made a sign that he wished to speak, and immediately the silence and attention of the multitude were redoubled, and all fixing their eyes upon him. He advanced a little, and said with a solemn voice—

“The great and good man to whose memory we this day pay a tribute of respect, of affection and profound regret, acquired in our revolutionary war a glory so true and so pure, that even now the name alone of Greene recalls all the virtues, all the talents which can adorn the patriot, the statesman, and the general; and yet it appertains to me, his brother in arms, and, I am proud to be able to say, his very sincere friend, to you, sir, his brave countryman and companion in arms, here to declare, that the kindness of his heart was equal to the force of his elevated, firm, and enlightened mind. The confidence and friendship which he obtained, were among the greatest proofs of the excellent judgment which characterized our paternal chief. By the affection of the state of Georgia towards him, the army also felt itself honoured; and I, sir, present myself before you, before new generations, as a representative of this army, of the deceased and absent friends of General Greene, to applaud the honours rendered to his memory, and to thank you for the testimonies of sympathy which you have accorded me in this touching and melancholy solemnity, and for the part which your wishes have caused me to take in it.”

When the aged companion of Greene had ceased to speak, a brother of Solomon’s Lodge, invested with masonic insignia, advanced from the crowd, and joining his voice to the grave tones of the music, sung a hymn, the last strophe of which was repeated in chorus by the assembled company, and the prayer of the people ascended to heaven with the solemn reports of the reverberating cannon.

During this time the corner stone had been prepared; and, before placing it, the grand chaplain, Mr. Carter, pronounced the prayer with a loud voice.

After this prayer, which was heard in religious silence, the grand master ordered the secretary of the committee to prepare the different objects which were to be placed in the foundation as memorials of the event. These were several medals with the portraits of the nation’s guest, of Washington, of General Greene, and Franklin; some pieces of money of the United States, struck at different periods, and also some paper money of the state of Georgia; some engravings, among which were the portraits of General Charles Pinckney, and Doctor Kollock, and all the details relative to the ceremony; lastly, a medal, on which were these words: “The corner stone of this monument, to the memory of General Nathaniel Greene, was laid by General Lafayette, at the request of the citizens of Savannah, the 21st of March, 1825.”

The stone was then lowered, amid strains of funeral music, to the bottom of the excavation. The general then descended to the stone, and struck it three times with a mallet; all the brethren came successively to render their duties, and the grand priest of the royal chapter of Georgia came, with the censor in his hand, to bless the corner stone. When all these ceremonies were ended, the grand master remitted to the principal architect all the objects requisite to be employed in the completion of the monument, charging him by all the ties which bound companions in masonry to acquit himself of his duty, in a manner honourable to his workmen and himself.

With these, and other ceremonies common on these occasions, the stone was then sealed while the music played a national air. The whole was terminated by a triple volley discharged by the United States’ troops.

The procession then marched back in the same order as before, and repaired to Chippeway place, where the ceremony was repeated in laying the corner stone of the monument of Pulaski.

Before returning to his lodgings, General Lafayette went to Brigadier-general Harden’s to assist at a presentation of colours embroidered by Mrs. Harden, and presented by her to the first regiment of the Georgia militia. On these colours, very richly worked, was the portrait of General Lafayette, and several inscriptions recalling various glorious epochs of the revolution. The burst of enthusiasm on receiving them extended alike to the officers and soldiers, who swore that under these colours, presented by beauty, and consecrated by Lafayette, they would ever be assured of vanquishing the enemies of liberty and their country.

Some hours after, notwithstanding the pressing entreaties of the citizens, and above all, the ladies, who had prepared a ball for the same evening, the general, pressed by time and his numerous engagements, was obliged to quit Savannah, and we embarked on board the steam-boat Alatamaha with the governor of Georgia, and the committee of arrangement, to visit Augusta, which is situated a hundred and eighty miles from the mouth of the river Savannah.

We found at Savannah a young man whose name and destiny were calculated to inspire us with a lively interest; this was Achille Murat, son of Joachim Murat, ex-king of Naples. On the earliest news of the arrival of General Lafayette in Georgia, he precipitately quitted Florida, where he has become a planter, and came to add his homage and felicitations to those of the Americans, whom he now regarded as his countrymen. Two days passed in his company, excited an esteem for his character and understanding, not to be withheld by any who may have the same opportunity of knowing him. Scarcely twenty-four years of age, he has had sufficient energy of mind to derive great advantages from an event which many others, in his place, would have regarded as an irreparable misfortune. Deprived of the hope of wearing the crown promised by his birth, he transported to the United States the trifling remains of his fortune, and sufficiently wise to appreciate the benefits of the liberty here enjoyed, he has become a naturalized citizen of the United States. Far from imitating so many fallen kings, who never learn how to console themselves for the loss of their former power, Achille Murat has become a cultivator, has preserved his name without any title, and by his frank, and altogether republican manners, has rapidly conciliated the regard of all who know him. He possesses a cultivated mind, and a heart filled with the most noble and generous emotions. For the memory of his father he cherishes a profound and melancholy veneration. Mr. George Lafayette, having cited in conversation some traits of that brilliant and chivalric bravery which Murat so eminently possessed, he appeared to be much affected by it; and, some moments after, when alone with me, he said with warm emotion, “Mr. George has caused me a great happiness; he has spoken well of my father to me.”

The conversation turning upon European politics, he explained himself with great freedom on the subject of the holy alliance, and, in general, upon every kind of despotism. I could not avoid saying to him, in pleasantry, that it was a very extraordinary circumstance to hear such discourse from the mouth of an hereditary prince. “Hereditary prince,” replied he with vivacity, “I have found the means to be more than such a thing—I am a freeman!” One circumstance, however, caused me pain and surprise, which was, that Achille Murat, free to choose his residence in the United States, should come to establish himself exactly in the country afflicted by slavery. This choice could only appear to me reasonable for a man who had decided to labour all in his power for the gradual emancipation of the blacks, and to give to his neighbours an example of justice and humanity, in preparing his slaves for liberty; but, I believe, this noble project has not entered into the thoughts of our young republican, who, to judge by some peculiarities of his conversation, seems but too well prepared to adopt the principles of some of his new fellow citizens as to the slavery of the blacks. Is it then, thus, that the original sin of royalty must always show the tip of its ear?[^[6]]

Savannah is the most important city of the state of Georgia. It is situated on the right bank of Savannah river, and about seventeen miles from its mouth. Its large and straight streets cross at right angles, and are planted on each side with a row of delightful trees, called the Pride of India, and for which the inhabitants of the south have a marked predilection. Although elevated forty feet above the level of the river, the situation of Savannah is unhealthy; an autumn seldom passes without the yellow fever making cruel ravages. Commerce is notwithstanding very active there; its port, which can admit vessels drawing forty feet, annually exports more than six millions of dollars worth of cotton. Its population is 7523 inhabitants, divided thus: 3,557 white individuals, 582 free people of colour, and 3,075 slaves. The number of persons employed in the manufactories nearly equals that of those occupied in commerce, which is about six hundred.

On quitting Savannah, we sailed at first for more than sixty miles between low marshy grounds whence issued many rivulets, and which was covered by a vegetation the most rich and varied that it is possible to imagine. Among the tallest trees we observed four or five species of pines, nine of oak, tulip-trees, poplars, plantains, sassafras, &c., beneath which grew more than forty kinds of shrubs, of which the form, flower, foliage and perfume, constitute the delicacies of our most brilliant parterres. Beyond this plain, the soil rises rapidly about two hundred feet above the level of the sea, and presents at intervals fine table lands, on which are established rich cotton plantations.

As we approached Augusta, two steam-boats, crowded with a great many citizens of that town, came to meet us, and saluted General Lafayette with three cheers, and the discharge of artillery. We answered them by the patriotic air of Yankee Doodle, and by three rounds of our guns. They joining us we ascended the river together, each forcing the steam in rivalry of speed. There was something frightful in this contest; the three roaring vessels seemed to fly in the midst of black clouds of smoke, which prevented us from seeing each other. The Alatamaha was victorious, which produced a lively joy in our brave captain, who seemed to be a man who would blow up his vessel rather than be beaten on such an occasion.

The general, forced to adhere rigorously to his calculations for travelling, had at first resolved to pass but one day at Augusta; but it was impossible for him to resist the earnest solicitations of the inhabitants to remain two days, that the greater part of the preparations made for him should not become useless. He yielded, and the entertainments they gave him were so multiplied, that for the first time since the commencement of this prodigious journey, he suffered a fatigue which caused us a momentary inquietude.

Among the citizens who received the general on the wharf at Augusta, we again met our fellow-passenger in the Cadmus, Mr. King, a young lawyer much esteemed by his fellow citizens. This meeting was to us not only very agreeable, but also very useful; in leaving the river Savannah, our communications with the Atlantic would become more difficult; it was therefore important for us to transmit our despatches from Augusta, that our friends in Europe might once more have news from us before we should have entirely passed into the interior of the country; and Mr. King had the goodness to undertake to forward them after our departure, as well as some effects which we retrenched from our baggage, in order to lighten ourselves as much as possible, for we foresaw that we were going to travel the worst roads that we had yet encountered since leaving Washington.

The day after our arrival, the general was engaged to visit, on the other side of the Savannah river, a sort of prodigy, which proves to what extent good institutions favour the increase of population, the developement of industry, and the happiness of man. It is a village named Hamburg, composed of about a hundred houses, raised in the same day by a single proprietor, and all inhabited in less than two months by an active and industrious population. This village is not yet two years old, and its port is already filled with vessels, its wharves covered with merchandise, and its inhabitants assured of a constantly increasing prosperity. Hamburg being on the right bank of the Savannah, belongs to South Carolina.

On the 25th we left Augusta, which is well built and containing more than four thousand inhabitants, to visit Milledgeville, passing through Warrenton and Sparta. The general was very affectionately received in each of these small towns; but we found the roads every where in a bad condition, and so much broken up, that we were obliged to travel a part of the way on horseback. Happily the carriage in which the general rode, resisted all accidents, but it was near breaking down twenty times. The first day the jolts were so violent, that they occasioned General Lafayette a vomiting which at first alarmed us, but this entirely ceased after a good night passed at Warrenton.

We arrived on the 2d of March, on the banks of little river Oconee, near to which Milledgeville, the capital of Georgia, is built. This town, which, from the dispersion of its houses, and the multitude and extent of its beautiful gardens, rather resembles a fine village than a city, containing a population of two thousand five hundred souls, among whom General Lafayette was received as a father and friend. The citizens, conducted by their magistrates, came to receive him on the banks of the river, and the aids-de-camp of the governor conducted him with pomp to the state house, which claimed the honour of lodging him. The day was passed in the midst of honours and pleasures of every kind. After the official presentation in the state house, where the general was addressed by an American citizen of French descent, Mr. Jaillet, mayor of Milledgeville; after the visit which we made to the lodge of our masonic brethren, and the review of all the militia of the county, we dined with Governor Troup, who had assembled at his house all the public officers and principal citizens, with whom we spent the evening at the state house, where the ladies of the place had prepared a ball for General Lafayette; but at this ball there was neither possibility nor wish for any one to dance; each, anxious to entertain or hear the nation’s guest, kept near him, and seized with avidity the occasion to testify gratitude and attachment. Affected almost to tears with the kindness evinced towards him, the general completely forgot that Georgia was a new acquaintance. He also forgot, it seemed, that to-morrow we were to depart early in the morning, and that some hours of repose would be necessary, as he passed a great part of the night in conversing with his new friends.

Before continuing the narrative of the subsequent journey, which conducted us from the bosom of the most advanced civilization, into the centre of still savage tribes, the aboriginal children of America, I shall make some observations on the state of Georgia.

This state, situated between the 30th and 35th degrees of north latitude, and the 3d and 9th of longitude west from Washington, is bounded on the north by the state of Tennessee, to the north-east by South Carolina, to the south-east by the Atlantic ocean, to the south by Florida, and to the west by the state of Alabama. Its surface is 58,000 square miles, and its population 340,989 inhabitants, of which nearly 150,000 are slaves; a proportion truly alarming, and which will, some day, bring Georgia into an embarrassing situation, if its government does not adopt some measure to diminish the evil. Here, as in all the slave states, the blacks are goods and chattels, which are sold like any other property, and which may be inherited; but their introduction into the state as an object of commerce is severely prohibited. According to existing laws, a person who brings into the state a slave, which he sells or exposes to sale within the year immediately succeeding his introduction, is subjected to a penalty of one thousand dollars, and an imprisonment of five years in the state prison. The prejudices against the coloured race is very strong among the Georgians, and I have not remarked that they have made any great efforts for the abolition of slavery; the laws even interpose a barrier to gradual emancipation, for a proprietor cannot give liberty to his slave without the authority of the legislature. The ancient code of slavery introduced by the English, and which was a code of blood, is fallen into disuse, and has been supplied by some laws protective of the slaves. Thus, for example, whoever now designedly deprives a slave of life or limb, is condemned to the same punishment as if the crime had been committed on a white man, except in a case of insurrection; but we feel that this law is to be administered by judges who are themselves slave-holders, and under the influence of the same prejudices as their fellow citizens; thus may one say with truth, that if the slaves of Georgia do not perish under the whip of their master, as too often happens in the French colonies, it is owing solely to the naturally mild and humane dispositions of the Georgians, and not to the efficacy of the laws, which admit that a slave may accidentally die on receiving moderate correction, without the author of the infliction being guilty of murder.

Georgia, it is said, was that one of the ancient colonies in which the revolution obtained the fewest suffrages. The royal party, for a long time, preserved there a great influence, which, augmented by the presence of a numerous body of English, under the orders of Colonel Campbell, maintained the royal government until the end of the war; thus the patriots had more to suffer in Georgia than elsewhere.

It was not until 1798, that the constitution, which had been adopted in 1785 and amended in 1789, was definitively and vigorously enforced by a general assembly of the representatives. This constitution is very nearly similar to that of South Carolina.

If Georgia is not yet one of the richest states of the Union, by the abundance and variety of its productions, the cause should be attributed to the influence of slavery alone. No country, perhaps, is more favoured by nature than this, and all the products of the most opposite climates may be easily and abundantly drawn from its soil. The seashores and the adjacent islands produce six hundred pounds of long cotton per acre, of which the medium price is thirty cents per pound; and the same soil will produce four crops without manure. Sugar may be cultivated in the same soil, with an equal success. The white mulberry grows there in such quantities, that Georgia could easily liberate the United States from an annual tribute of several millions which they pay to Europe, if the culture of silk was confided to skilful and interested hands; that is to say, to the hands of freemen. Tea grows without culture in the neighbourhood of Savannah; in some choice places, three crops of indigo are annually produced; and, in the interior, the lands produce abundantly of grain and maize; finally, pulse and fruits of all kinds grow here with an unusual facility. But to fertilize the sources of such abundant riches, there are requisite an industry and activity, rarely possessed by men accustomed to confide the care of their existence to the devotedness of unhappy beings brutalised by slavery.[^[7]]

CHAPTER VI.

Departure from Milledgeville—Macon—Indian Agency—Meeting with Indians during a Storm—Hamley—M’Intosh’s Tribe—Uchee Creek—Big Warrior—Captain Lewis—Line Creek—Montgomery—Farewell of M’Intosh—Cahawba—State of Alabama—Mobile.

On the 29th of March, after having taken leave of the citizens of Milledgeville, and expressed our thanks to the committee of arrangement, the authorities of the town and the state, for the kindnesses with which we had been loaded, we resumed our route with some aides-de-camp of Governor Troup, who, with a skilful foresight, had previously arranged every thing, so that the general should experience the inconveniences inevitably to be encountered, as little as possible, in a journey across a country without roads, towns, and almost without inhabitants; for, to enter the state of Alabama, we had to traverse that vast territory which separates it from Georgia, and which is inhabited by the Creek nation; a people which civilization has blighted with some of its vices, without having been able to win them from the habits of a wandering and savage life.

The first day, after travelling for some hours, we arrived at Macon to dinner, where the general was received with enthusiasm by the citizens, and a number of ladies, whose elegance and manners formed a singular contrast to the aspect of the country we had traversed. Macon, which is a small and handsome village, tolerably populous, did not exist eighteen months since; it has arisen from the midst of the forests as if by enchantment. It is a civilized speck lost in the yet immense domain of the original children of the soil. Within a league of this place, we are again in the bosom of virgin forests; the summits of these aged trees, which appear as records of the age of the world, waved above our heads, and, when agitated by the winds, gave rise alternately to that shrill or hollow tone, which Chateaubriand has termed the voice of the desert. The road we pursued was a kind of gulley or fissure, over the bottom of which the general’s carriage was with difficulty drawn, and often at the risk of being shattered in pieces; we followed on horseback, and arrived in the evening at the Indian agency.

This is an isolated habitation in the midst of the forests, built during the last year for the conferences between the Indian chiefs and the commissioners of the United States. It was there that the treaty was formed, by which the tribes inhabiting the left bank of the Mississippi consented to retire to the right bank, on the payment of a considerable sum of money to them. The year 1827 was assigned as the time for their evacuation, and it is not without sorrow that the Indians find that it is drawing near; they will relinquish with regret the neighbourhood of civilized man, although they detest him; and accuse their chiefs of having betrayed them in making this cession, which, it is said, has already cost the life of M’Intosh, one of the chiefs who signed the treaty.

We passed the night at the Indian agency; we had been expected the evening before by about a hundred Indians, among whom the name of Lafayette has existed by tradition for fifty years; but the delays we had met with had exhausted their patience, and they had gone to prepare for our reception elsewhere. On the second day we had to traverse thirty-two miles over a road which became more and more difficult. A storm, such as is never seen in Europe, and which, however, I cannot pause to describe, now assailed us, and forced us to halt for some hours. Happily we found a shelter in a cabin built by an American, not far distant from the road. Some Indian hunters, accustomed, no doubt, to seek refuge here, were drying their garments around a large fire; we took our place among them without being known, or attracting any particular attention. Mine, on the contrary, was strongly excited by this interview, the first of the kind I had met with. I had heard much of the manners of these sons of nature, and, like every inhabitant of a civilized country, I entertained such singular ideas respecting them, that the slightest of their gestures, and every minutiæ of their dress and accoutrements, induced an astonishment which the Indians did not appear to share in seeing us. As far as I could, by signs, I proposed a multitude of questions, to which they replied by a pantomime, which was at once expressive and laconic. I had heard much of the apathy of Indians as a natural faculty, but also singularly augmented in them by education. I wished to make a few experiments on this point, but did not know how they would receive them. I provoked one of them by hostile gestures; but my anger, though tolerably well assumed, did not appear to excite more emotion than the tricks of a child would have done. He continued his conversation without attending to me, and his countenance expressed neither fear nor contempt.

After some other trials of the same kind, always received with the same calm indifference, I recurred to signs of kindness; I offered to the Indians a glass of brandy: this succeeded better. They emptied it. I showed them some pieces of money, which they took without ceremony. I soon quitted them, and it appeared to me that we separated very good friends. The termination of the storm now permitted us to resume our route, and we arrived at a resting place rather better than that of the preceding evening. This was a group of cabins constructed of logs, and covered with bark. The owner was an American, whom a reverse of fortune had forced to take refuge here, where he carried on a lucrative trade with the Indians by exchanging goods from the coast for furs. His small farm was composed of some acres in tolerable cultivation, a well furnished poultry yard, and the dwelling I have spoken of above. On arrival, we found two Indians seated before his door, one young, the other middle aged, but both remarkable for their beauty and form. They were dressed in a short frock, of a light material, fastened around the body by a wampum belt. Their heads were wrapped with shawls of brilliant colours, their leggings of buckskin reached above the knee. They arose on the approach of the general, and saluted him, the youngest, to our great astonishment, complimenting him in very good English. We soon learnt that he had passed his youth in college in the United States, but that he had withdrawn several years before from his benefactor, to return among his brethren, whose mode of life he preferred to that of civilized man. The general questioned him much as to the state of the Indian nations. He replied with much clearness and precision. When the last treaty of the United States was spoken of, his countenance became sombre, he stamped on the ground, and, placing his hand upon his knife, murmured the name of M’Intosh in such a manner, as to make us tremble for the safety of that chief; and when we appeared to be astonished, “M’Intosh,” exclaimed he, “has sold the land of his fathers, and sacrificed us all to his avarice. The treaty he has concluded in our name, it is impossible to break, but the wretch!” He stopped on making this violent exclamation, and shortly afterwards quietly entered on some other topic of conversation.

Hamley, (the name of the young Indian,) when he found we were somewhat rested, proposed to us to visit his house, which he pointed out to us on the slope of a hill at a little distance. Two of the governor’s aides-de-camp and myself accepted the invitation, and followed the two Indians. On our route they showed to us a fenced enclosure, filled with deer and fawns, which they called their reserve, and which served them for food when they had been unsuccessful in the chase. Hamley’s cabin adjoined this enclosure. We entered it. There was a large fire on the hearth, and evening having commenced, the whole building was illuminated by the flame of the burning pine wood. The furniture consisted of two beds, a table, some rude chairs, whilst wicker baskets, fire arms, and bows and arrows, with a violin, were hanging on the walls. The whole arrangement indicated the presence of man in a half civilized state. Hamley’s companion took down the violin, and handling the instrument with vigour rather than lightness and grace, played some fragments of Indian airs, which induced a desire of dancing in Hamley, but whether from courtesy, or from a wish of inducing a comparison which would result to his own credit, he begged us to begin. The grave Americans who accompanied me, excused themselves. Being younger, or less reserved, I did not wait for a second invitation, and executed some steps of our national dances; this was all that Hamley desired. I saw him throw off every thing that might embarrass him, seize a large shawl, and triumphantly spring into the centre of the apartment, as if he would say, it is now my turn. His first movements, slow and impassioned, gradually became animated, his movements, incomparably bolder and more expressive than those of our opera dancers, soon became so rapid that the eye could scarcely follow them. In the intervals, or when he halted for breath, his steps softly beating time to the music, his head gently inclined, and gracefully following the movements of his pliant body, his eyes sparkling with an emotion which reddened the coppery hue of his complexion, the cries that he uttered when he awoke from this reverie in order to commence his rapid evolutions, had the most striking effect upon us, which it is impossible to describe.

Two Indian women, whom I afterwards learned were Hamley’s wives, approached the house, during the time that it resounded with his exertions, and our plaudits, but they did not enter, and I therefore merely saw them. They had the usual beauty of this race; their dress was composed of a long white tunic, and a scarlet drapery thrown over their shoulders; their long black hair was wholly unconfined. On their neck, they had a necklace of four or five strings of pearls, and in their ears, those immense silver rings so generally worn by Indian women. I believed, from their reserve, that Hamley had forbidden them to enter, and therefore made no inquiries respecting them. There were also some negroes about the house, but they did not appear to be slaves. They were fugitives to whom he had granted an asylum, and who repaid his hospitality by their labour.

I would willingly have remained several days as Hamley’s guest and companion in the chase; but we were obliged to continue our journey. We retired, and the next day, the 31st March, resumed our route. As we plunged deeper into this country of forests, the Indian soil seemed to efface from our minds those prejudices which induce civilized man to endeavour to impose his mode of life on all those nations who still adhere to primitive habits, and to consider the invasion of districts in which this pretended barbarity still exists, as a noble and legitimate conquest. It must, however, be stated, to the praise of the Americans, that it is not by extermination or war, but by treaties, in which their intellectual superiority, it is true, exercises a species of gentle violence, that they pursue their system of aggrandizement against the Indian tribes to the west and north. With them, civilization is not sullied by crimes to be compared with those of Great Britain in India, but in rendering this justice to them, we, at the same time, cannot help feeling a strong interest in the fate of the unhappy Indians. Thus, in meeting at every turn the bark cabin of the Creek hunter, now the habitation of peace and savage yet happy ignorance, we could not think without sorrow how soon it might be overthrown and replaced by the farm of the white settler. It was on the banks of the Chatahouche that we met with the first assemblage of Indians, in honour of the general. A great number of women and children were to be seen in the woods on the opposite bank, who uttered cries of joy on perceiving us. The warriors descended the side of a hill at a little distance, and hastened to that part of the shore at which we were to disembark. The variety and singular richness of their costumes presented a most picturesque appearance. Mr. George Lafayette, who was the first that landed, was immediately surrounded by men, women, and children, who danced and leaped around him, touched his hands and clothes with an air of surprise and astonishment, that caused him almost as much embarrassment as pleasure. All at once, as if they wished to give their joy a grave and more solemn expression, they retired, and the men ranged themselves in front. He who appeared to be the chief of the tribe, gave, by an acute and prolonged cry, the signal for a kind of salute, which was repeated by the whole troop, which again advanced towards the shore. At the moment the general prepared to step on shore, some of the most athletic seized the small carriage we had with us, and insisted that the general should seat himself in it, not willing, as they observed, that their father should step on the wet ground. The general was thus carried in a kind of palanquin a certain distance from the shore, when the Indian whom I have spoken of as the chief, approached him and said in English, that all his brothers were happy in being visited by one who, in his affection for the inhabitants of America, had never made a distinction of blood or colour; that he was the honoured father of all the races of men dwelling on that continent. After the chief had finished his speech, the other Indians all advanced and placed their right arm on that of the general, in token of friendship. They would not permit him to leave the carriage, but dragging it along, they slowly ascended the hill they had previously left, and on which one of their largest villages was situated.

During our progress I drew near to the Indian chief; I supposed that as he spoke English, that he, like Hamley, had been educated in the United States, and this I found to be the case. He was about 28 years of age, of a middle height; but the symmetry of his limbs was perfect, his physiognomy noble, his expression mournful; when he was not speaking he fixed his large black eyes, shaded by a heavy brow, steadfastly on the ground. When he told me that he was the eldest son of M’Intosh, I could not recall, without emotions of sorrow, the imprecations I had heard poured forth against this chief, on the preceding evening. This, in all probability, occasioned the air of depression and thoughtfulness I remarked in the young man; but what I afterwards learned in conversation with him explained it still more satisfactorily; his mind had been cultivated at the expense of his happiness. He appreciated the real situation of his nation, he saw it gradually becoming weaker, and foresaw its speedy destruction; he felt how much it was inferior to those which surrounded it, and was perfectly aware that it was impossible to overcome the wandering mode of life of his people. Their vicinity to civilization had been of no service to them; on the contrary, it had only been the means of introducing vices to which they had hitherto been strangers; he appeared to hope that the treaty which removed them to another and a desert country, would re-establish the ancient organization of the tribes, or at least preserve them in the state in which they now were.

When we arrived at the brow of the hill we perceived the glitter of helmets and swords; troops were drawn up in line along the road. These were not Indians; they were civilized men, sent by the state of Alabama to escort the general. The singular triumphal march to which he had been obliged to submit, now ceased. The Indians saw with some jealousy the American escort range themselves round the general; but we approached the village, and they ran on in order to precede us. We there found them on our arrival, with their garments thrown off, and prepared to afford us a sight of their warlike games.

We arrived on a large plain, around which were situated about an hundred Indian huts, crowned by the rich verdure of the dense thickets; one house was distinguished for its greater size, it was that of the American agent. He also kept an inn, and his wife superintended a school for the instruction of the Indian children. All the men were assembled, deprived of a part of their dress, their faces painted in a grotesque manner, and some wearing feathers in their hair, as a mark of distinction. They then announced to us that there would be a mock fight in honour of their white father. In fact, we soon perceived them separate into two divisions, and form two camps at the two extremities of the place, appoint two leaders, and make preparations for a combat. The cry that was uttered by each of these troops, and which we were told was the war-whoop of the Indian tribes, is, perhaps, the most extraordinary modulation of the human voice that can be conceived, and the effect it produced on the combatants of all ages, was still more so. The sport began. They explained the plan to us as follows: Each party endeavoured to drive a ball beyond a certain mark, and that which attained this object seven times would be the victor. We soon saw the combatants, each armed with two long rackets, rush after the light projectile, spring over each other in order to reach it, seize it in the air with incredible dexterity, and hurl it beyond the goal. When the ball was missed by a player, it fell to the ground, when every head was bent, a scene of great confusion ensued, and it was only after a severe struggle that the players succeeded in again throwing it up. In the midst of one of these long combats, whilst all the players were bent around the ball, an Indian detached himself from the group to some distance, returned on a run, sprung into the air, and after making several somersets, threw himself on the shoulders of the other players, leaped into the circle, seized the ball, and for the seventh time cast it beyond the mark. This player was M’Intosh. The victory was obtained by the camp which he commanded; he advanced to receive our congratulations under a shower of applause from a part of the Indian women, whilst the wives of the vanquished appeared to be endeavouring to console them.

The general, after this game, which much amused him, visited the interior of some of the huts, and the Indian school. When we were ready to resume our journey, young M’Intosh re-appeared dressed as an European. He requested permission from the general to accompany him to Montgomery, where he wished to carry his brother, who was about ten years of age, in order to place him under the care of a citizen of Alabama, who had generously offered to educate him. The general consented to it, and we all set out for Uchee Creek, an American tavern, situated on the banks of a creek of that name. We arrived at that place at an early hour, and visited the neighbourhood, which was charming. Accompanied by M’Intosh, I soon made an acquaintance with the Indians of that district. We found them exercising with the bow. I wished to try my skill, M’Intosh likewise armed himself; he had the arm and eye of William Tell. Some proofs of his skill would scarcely be credited were I to relate them. I was most struck with the skill, with which, whilst lying on the ground, he discharged an arrow, which, striking the ground at a few paces distance, made a slight rebound, and flew to an immense distance. This is the mode employed by the Indians when they wish to discharge their arrows to a great distance without discovering themselves. I tried in vain to accomplish it; each time my arrow, instead of rebounding, buried itself in the earth.

We returned to Uchee Creek, and met an Indian chief on his way to the tavern. He was on horseback, with a woman behind him. When he arrived within a few paces of the house, he dismounted and went forward to salute the general, and to make some purchases. During this time his wife remained with the horse, brought it to him when he wished to depart, held the bridle and stirrup when he mounted, and afterwards sprung up behind him. I asked my companions if this woman was the wife of the Indian, and if such was the condition of the females of the nation. They replied, that in general they were treated as we had seen; in the agricultural districts they cultivated the ground, among the hunters they carried the game, the culinary utensils, and other necessary articles, and thus loaded could travel great distances, that even maternal cares scarcely exonerated them from these laborious occupations. However, in the excursions I afterwards made in the environs of Uchee Creek, the condition of the women did not appear to me as unhappy as I was led to expect. I saw before almost all the houses the women sitting in circles, engaged in weaving baskets or mats, and amusing themselves with the games and exercises of the young men, and I never remarked any signs of harshness on the part of the men, or of servile dependence on the part of the women. I was so hospitably received in all the Indian cabins at Uchee Creek, and the country around was so beautiful, that it yet appears to me as the most beautiful spot I ever visited. From Uchee Creek to the cabin of Big Warrior, which is the nearest resting place, is about a day’s journey, through a country inhabited by Indians. We several times met parties of them, and were greatly assisted by them in extricating ourselves from dangerous places in the road, for the storm had encumbered them, and swelled the streams. On one of these occasions, the general received a touching specimen of the veneration these sons of nature held him in. One of the torrents we were to cross had risen above the unnailed wooden bridge over which the carriage of the general was to proceed. What was our astonishment, on arriving at the stream, to find a score of Indians, who, holding each other by the hand, and breast deep in water, marked the situation of the bridge by a double line. We were well pleased at receiving this succour, and the only recompense demanded by the Indians, was to have the honour of taking the general by the hand, whom they called their white father, the envoy of the Great Spirit, the great warrior from France, who came in former days to free them from the tyranny of the English. M’Intosh, who interpreted their discourse to us, also expressed to them the general’s and our own good wishes. The village of the Big Warrior is thus named on account of the extraordinary courage and great stature of the Indian who was its chief. We arrived there at a late hour; the chief had been dead some time; the council of old men had assembled to name his successor, and had designated one of his sons, remarkable for the same strength of body, as worthy of filling his place. This son had much conversation with Mr. George Lafayette; he expressed himself in English, and astonished us by the singular apathy with which he spoke of the death of his father. But the Indians have not the slightest idea of what we call grief and mourning. Death does not appear an evil to them, either as regards the person who has quitted this life, or those who are thus separated from him. The son of Big Warrior only appeared to regret that the death of his father, which had occurred a short time before, did not permit him to dispose of his inheritance, and to present one of the dresses of this celebrated chief to the general.

We only passed one night with the family of Big Warrior; the next day we arrived at Line Creek, that is to say, at the frontier of the Indian country. We were received there by an American who had married the daughter of a Creek chief, and had adopted the Indian mode of life. He was a Captain Lewis, formerly in the army of the United States; his house was commodious, and was furnished with elegance for an Indian cabin. Captain Lewis, who is distinguished for his knowledge and character, appeared to us to exercise great influence over the Indians; he had assembled a great number, well armed and mounted, to act as an escort to the general. One of the neighbouring chiefs came at the head of a deputation to compliment the general. His discourse, which appeared studied, was rather long, and was translated to us by an interpreter. He commenced by high eulogiums on the skill and courage the general had formerly displayed against the English; the most brilliant events of that war was recalled and recounted in a poetical and somewhat pompous strain. He terminated somewhat in these words: “Father, we had long since heard that you had returned to visit our forests and our cabins; you, whom the Great Spirit formerly sent over the great lake to destroy those enemies of man, the English, clothed in bloody raiment. Even the youngest amongst us will say to their descendants, that they have touched your hand and seen your figure, they will also behold you, for you are protected by the Great Spirit from the ravages of age—you may again defend us if we are attacked.”

The general replied, through the interpreter, to these compliments of the Indians; he again counselled them to be prudent and temperate; recommended their living in harmony with the Americans, and to always consider them as their friends and brothers; he told them that he should always think of them, and would pray for the welfare of their families and the glory of their warriors. We now directed our course to the stream which separates the Creek country from the state of Alabama. The Indians under Captain Lewis, mounted on small horses as light and nimble as deer, some armed with bows and arrows, and others with tomahawks, followed us in a long file, the rear of which was hidden in the darkness of the forest. On arriving at the brink of the stream, they turned back, uttering loud cries; some of the chiefs, however, bid us a final adieu as we left their territory.

We passed the night on the banks of Line Creek, in a small village of the same name, almost entirely inhabited by persons whom the love of gain had assembled from all parts of the globe, in the midst of these deserts, to turn to their own profit the simplicity and above all the new wants of the unfortunate natives. These avaricious wretches, who without scruple poison the tribes with intoxicating liquors, and afterwards ruin them by duplicity and overreaching, are the most cruel and dangerous enemies of the Indian nations, whom, at the same time, they accuse of being robbers, idlers, and drunkards. If the limits to which I had determined to restrain my narrative had not already been overstepped, I could easily show, that these vices with which they reproach the children of the forest, are the result of the approach of civilization, and also in how many instances they are surpassed by the whites in cruelty and want of faith. I will content myself with citing but two facts from the thousands, which are an eternal stigma on men so proud of the whiteness of their skin, and who call themselves civilized.

A short time since, a trader, living in the state of Alabama, went into the Creek country for the purposes of his business. Having met with one of the chiefs of the nation, he bargained with him for peltries; but, as the conditions he proposed were all disadvantageous to the Indian, to induce him the more readily to consent to them, he intoxicated him with whiskey. After the bargain was concluded, they set out together for the nearest village. On the way, the Indian reflected on what he had done, and perceived that he had been duped; he wished to enter into some other arrangement with the trader, but the discussion soon caused a violent quarrel, which ended by the Indian striking his adversary so violent a blow with his tomahawk, as to stretch him dead at his feet. Twenty-four hours afterwards, on the first complaint of the whites, the murderer was arrested by his own tribe, who, after having assembled their great council, pronounced him guilty of a base assassination, in thus having killed a white who was without arms or means of defence. They then conducted him to the banks of Line Creek, where they had requested the whites to assemble to witness the justice they rendered them, and shot him in their presence.

The evening of our arrival at Line Creek, I went into a store to make some purchases, and whilst there, an Indian entered and asked for twelve and a half cents worth of whiskey. The owner of the shop received the money, and told him to wait a moment, as the concourse of buyers was very great. The Indian waited patiently for a quarter of an hour, after which he demanded his whiskey. The trader appeared astonished, and told him if he wanted whiskey he must first pay him for it. “I gave you twelve and a half cents a few moments since,” said the Indian. The poor wretch had scarcely pronounced these words, when the trader sprung forward, seized him by the ears, and, assisted by one of his men, brutally turned him out of the shop. I saw him give the money, and was convinced of the honesty of the one and the rascality of the other. I felt strongly indignant, and notwithstanding the delicacy of my situation, I would have stept forward to interfere, but the whole scene passed so rapidly that I hardly had time to say a few words. I went out to see what the Indian would do. I found him a few steps from the house, where he had been checked by his melancholy emotions. An instant afterwards, he crossed his arms on his breast, and hurried towards his own country with rapid strides. When he arrived on the margin of the stream, he plunged in and crossed it without appearing to perceive that the water reached above his knees. On attaining the other side, he stopped, turned round, and elevating his eyes towards heaven, he extended his hand towards the territory of the whites, in a menacing manner, and uttered some energetic exclamations in his own language. Doubtless, at that moment he invoked the vengeance of heaven on his oppressors; a vengeance that would have been just, but his prayer was in vain. Poor Indians! you are pillaged, beaten, poisoned or excited by intoxicating liquors, and then you are termed savages! Washington said, “Whenever I have been called upon to decide between an Indian and a white man, I have always found that the white had been the aggressor.” Washington was right.

The conduct of the American government is of an entirely different character, as regards the Indian tribes. It not only protects them against individual persecution, and sees that the treaties made with them by the neighbouring states are not disadvantageous to them, and are faithfully adhered to, but it also provides for their wants with a paternal solicitude. It is not a rare circumstance for congress to vote money and supplies to those tribes, whom a deficient harvest or unforeseen calamity have exposed to famine.

We quitted Line Creek on the 3d of April, and the same day General Lafayette was received at Montgomery, by the inhabitants of that village, and by the governor of the state of Alabama, who had come from Cahawba with all his staff and a large concourse of citizens, who had assembled from great distances to accompany him. We passed the next day at Montgomery, and left it on the night of the 4th and 5th, after a ball, at which we had the pleasure of seeing Chilli M’Intosh dance with several beautiful women, who certainly had little idea that they were dancing with a savage. The parting of M’Intosh with the general was a melancholy one. He appeared overwhelmed with sinister presentiments. After having quitted the general and his son, he met me in the courtyard; he stopped, placed my right arm on his, and elevating his left hand towards heaven, “Farewell,” said he, “always accompany our father and watch over him. I will pray to the Great Spirit also to watch over him, and give him a speedy and safe return to his children in France. His children are our brothers; he is our father. I hope that he will not forget us.” His voice was affected, his countenance sad, and the rays of the moon falling obliquely on his dark visage, gave a solemnity to his farewell with which I was deeply moved. I wished to reply to him, but he quitted me precipitately and disappeared.

At two o’clock in the morning, we embarked on the Alabama, on board the steam-boat Anderson, which had been richly and commodiously prepared for the general, and provided with a band of musicians sent from New Orleans. All the ladies of Montgomery accompanied us on board, where we took leave of them; and the moment the reports of the artillery announced our departure, immense fires were lighted on the shore. Our voyage as far as the Tombigbee was delicious. It is difficult to imagine any thing more romantic than the elevated, gravelly, and oftentimes wooded shores of the Alabama. During the three days we were on it, the echoes repeated the patriotic airs executed by our Louisiania musicians. We stopped one day at Cahawba, where the officers of government of the state of Alabama had, in concert with the citizens, prepared entertainments for General Lafayette, as remarkable for their elegance and good taste, as touching by their cordiality and the feelings of which they were the expression. Among the guests with whom we sat down to dinner, we found some countrymen whom political events had driven from France. They mentioned to us, that they had formed part of the colony at Champ D’Asile. They now lived in a small town they had founded in Alabama, to which they had given the name Gallopolis. I should judge that they were not in a state of great prosperity. I believe their European prejudices, and their inexperience in commerce and agriculture, will prevent them from being formidable rivals of the Americans for a length of time.

Cahawba, the seat of government of Alabama, is a flourishing town, whose population, although as yet small, promises to increase rapidly, from its admirable situation at the confluence of the Cahawba and Alabama.

The state of Alabama, which, like Mississippi, was formerly part of Georgia, and with which its early history is intimately connected, received a territorial governor from congress in 1817, and was admitted into the federation as an independent state in 1816. Its population, which in 1810 was only 10,000, had risen to 67,000 in 1817, and is at present 128,000. In this estimate of the population I do not include the Indian tribes of Choctaws, Cherokees, and Chickasaws, residing in the east and west of the state.

From Cahawba we descended the river to Claiborne, a small fort on the Alabama. The general was induced by the intreaties of the inhabitants to remain a few hours, which were passed in the midst of the most touching demonstrations of friendship. Mr. Dellet, who had been appointed by his fellow citizens to express their sentiments, acquitted himself with an eloquence we were astonished to meet in a spot, which, but a short time before, only resounded with the savage cry of the Indian hunter.

A little below Claiborne, I remarked that the banks of the Alabama were much lower; when we had passed the mouth of the Tombigbee, we found ourselves in the middle of low marshy meadows, but apparently very fertile. Finally, we arrived on the 7th of April, in Mobile bay, at the bottom of which is situated a city of the same name.

The distance we had traversed in three days, and which was more than three hundred miles, on account of the windings of the river, formerly required a month or six weeks in ascending, and half the time in descending. This shows what a prodigious revolution the application of steam to navigation will effect in the commercial relations of a country.

The city of Mobile, which is the oldest establishment in the state, is very advantageously situated for commerce, on a beautiful plain, elevated more than twenty feet above the general level of the water. This town had languished for a long time, under the despotism of the Spanish inquisition, and the wretched administration of the French government. It has often been devastated by the yellow fever. At present, all its wounds are healed; a few years of liberty have sufficed to render it prosperous. When the Americans took possession, it did not contain more than two hundred houses; at present, its population is more than 1800 souls. Formerly it scarcely exported four hundred bales of cotton; this year it has despatched upwards of sixty thousand.

The arrival of the steam-boat in the bay, was announced by discharges of artillery from Fort Conde; and when we reached the wharf at Mobile, the general found the committee of the corporation and all the population assembled to receive him. He was conducted to the centre of the town under a triumphal arch, the four corners of which were adorned with the flags of Mexico, the republics of South America and Greece. In the centre was that of the United States. Here he was complimented by Mr. Garrow in the name of the city, and in presence of the municipal body. He was then led to an immense hall, expressly constructed for his reception. He there found all the ladies, to whom he was presented by the governor; after which Mr. Webb addressed him in the name of the state. In his speech, the orator retraced with much truth, the debased situation into which despotism and ignorance had formerly plunged the city of Mobile, and the rich territory that surrounded it; he then painted the rapid and increasing progress that liberty and republican institutions had produced in the arts, in industry and commerce, which had now rendered these very spots rich and prosperous; he attributed this happy change to the glorious and triumphant exertions of the revolutionary patriots, whose courage and constancy had been sustained by the noble example of Lafayette; and he terminated by expressing his regret that the efforts of the French patriots had not resulted in consequences equally beneficial to their country.

In returning his thanks to the orator and the citizens of Alabama, the general took a rapid survey of the struggles for liberty in which he had borne so important a part, and concluded by expressing his deep conviction of the necessity of the closest and most intimate union among the states.

The inhabitants of Mobile, hoping that the general would pass some days with them, had made great preparations for entertainments to him, but the most part were rendered useless. Limited in his time, he was obliged to yield to the solicitations of the deputation from New Orleans, who pressed him to depart the next morning. Nevertheless he accepted a public dinner, a ball and a masonic celebration; after which we went on board the vessel which was to take him to New Orleans, to obtain a few hours of that repose, which a day filled with so many pleasant emotions had rendered absolutely necessary.

CHAPTER VII.

Departure from Mobile—Gulf of Mexico—Passage of the Balize—Landing at the entrenchments near New Orleans—Entrance into the city—Entertainments and Public Ceremonies—Battle of New Orleans.

The vessel on board of which we had retired, on leaving the ball, was the Natchez, an excellent and handsome steam-boat, sent by the city of New Orleans to transport the general from Mobile to the shores of the Mississippi. An experienced captain, Mr. Davis, commanded her; she had on board the Louisiania deputation, at the head of which was Mr. Duplantier, an old friend and companion in arms of the general. At the break of day, cannon were heard, at which signal we weighed anchor. The general stationed on the deck, received the farewell of the citizens who pressed in crowds to the shore, and testified their sorrow by expressive gestures and a gloomy silence. In half an hour, the city of Mobile disappeared from the horizon, which enlarged around us, and in a short time the smoke of the artillery, tinged by the rays of the rising sun, also became invisible. When night returned, it found us in the Gulf of Mexico.

To reach New Orleans, we might choose between two routes; either behind Dauphin, Horn, Dog, Ship, or Cat islands, traversing lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain, and disembarking a few miles in the rear of the city, or else boldly cross the gulf to the mouth of the Mississippi, pass the Balize and ascend the river. Our captain, confident of the solidity of his vessel, decided on the latter plan, which was not unattended with danger, but it gained us a whole day. We soon repented of his determination. A storm arose in a short time. The motion of the vessel became so disagreeable that we were obliged to lie down to avoid the sea sickness which attacked almost all of us. During the night, the wind greatly augmented, and the waves became so high, that several of them entering the ports, inundated the cabin and our beds. The noise of the wind, waves, and engine, with the creaking of the vessel, were so horrible, that we expected to founder every moment. At break of day I ascended to the deck, from whence I beheld the most imposing and awful spectacle; we arrived at the Balize. We could not avoid feeling a strong emotion at the sight of this magnificent river, whose rapid stream and prodigious breadth announced rather a conqueror than a tributary of the ocean. Its waves repelling, to a great distance, those of the sea, heaped on the low islands at its mouth, thousands of immense trunks of trees, which, after having flourished for ages under the polar circle, were now decaying under the burning sky of Mexico, and feeding a new vegetation with their remains. Enormous alligators of a sinister appearance and sluggish gait, attached to the floating trunks of trees, menaced the navigator, and seemed to dispute the entrance of the river with him. For a long time after we had entered the Mississippi we thought ourselves in another sea, so distant are its shores, and so tumultuous are its waves. It was not until after some hours that it became sufficiently narrow for us to perceive its muddy banks, or that the stream diminished in swiftness.

In the morning we passed fort Plaquemine, from which we were saluted with thirteen guns, and night again surprised us before we could perceive the walls of New Orleans. No variety in the vegetation is perceptible for sixty miles from the Balize. Hitherto nothing was to be seen but cypresses covered with the sombre tillandsia, called by the natives of the country, Spanish beard. This parasitic plant, which forms a long and dense drapery on the trees, has a more melancholy appearance, from its only growing in countries subject to the yellow fever. It is said to afford food to those animals which seek a shelter in the woods during the winter. The inhabitants of Louisiana employ it to stuff matrasses and cushions; for these purposes, after having washed it in an alkaline solution, they beat it till the husk is detached; when it is dry it has the appearance of long black hair. It is so durable as to be considered incorruptible. It is employed with success in building, mixed with mortar or tenacious earth.

About midnight, I went on deck for a short time; the night was dark, the sky charged with thick clouds, and the air filled with a hoarse noise. The batteries at New Orleans were then firing a salute of a hundred guns, to announce that the day on which the guest of the nation would arrive, was commencing.

Next morning we awoke near those famous lines where twelve thousand picked English troops were overthrown by a few hundred men, the half of whom bore arms for the first time. Astonished at the cries of Vive la liberté, vive l’ami de l’Amerique! vive Lafayette! in the French language, we hastened on deck. What was our surprise on seeing the shore covered with French uniforms! For an instant we believed that we were transported back to the bosom of our country, once more freed, and our hearts beat with joy. General Lafayette disembarked in the midst of the thunder of artillery, and the acclamations of an immense multitude, who, regardless of the badness of the weather and the distance from the town, crowded the levee. He was received by a numerous escort of cavalry, and by the twelve marshals who had been appointed to direct the procession. Leaning on the arm of his ancient companion in arms, Mr. Duplantier, and of General Villeré, he proceeded to the house of Montgomery, which had been Jackson’s head quarters on the day when he covered himself with glory by his admirable defence of his lines. The governor of the state there waited for him, and received him in the name of the people of Louisiana.

The speech of the governor, depicting Frenchmen enjoying a liberty which is still considered in France as problematical, made a deep impression on the general, and he replied to it with much emotion.

At the conclusion of his reply, every one that could force an entrance into the house were presented to him in turn. There were a great number of the veterans of the revolution, and among others, Colonel Bruian-Bruin, who had served at the siege of Quebec, where the brave General Montgomery perished; Judge Gerrard, who fought at Yorktown, Colonel Grenier, who, after having gloriously assisted in the three revolutions of America, France, and Colombia, still preserved at seventy years of age, all the courage and fire of youth. A great number of ladies also came down to meet the general, and offered him their congratulations through Mr. Marigny, on his safe arrival in Louisiana. After all the presentations had been gone through, the procession was formed, and, notwithstanding the violence of the rain, we took up the line of march to the city. We advanced but slowly, from the denseness of the crowd, which, as we approached the city, blocked up both the road and the levee. When we arrived at the outskirts of the town we met with bodies of troops drawn up in two lines, through which we passed to the sound of martial music. Notwithstanding the badness of the weather, the general proceeded along these lines on foot, and before he again entered the carriage returned his thanks to the commanding officers. The procession again moved on, augmented by the troops falling into the rear, and, as it advanced, the crowd became still greater in spite of the continuance of the storm. This immense concourse of people, the view of the triple row of houses adorned with hangings, bordering the river side, the sound of the artillery and bells, and the prolonged acclamations of the whole population, produced a sensation which it is difficult to describe; at last, in the midst of these testimonies of strong affection, the general arrived at the barrier of the public square, and was conducted by the committee of arrangement under a triumphal arch of admirable architecture and excellent design. This monument was sixty feet in height, forty of which were below the springing of the arch, by fifty-eight in breadth; the arcade was twenty feet wide, and twenty-five long; it rested on a socle imitating Sera-Veza marble; the base, forming a pedestal of green Italian marble, was decorated with colossal statues of Justice and Liberty. This allegorical basement supported an arch of the doric order, adorned with four coupled columns on each face. The key-stones were composed of twenty-four stones, each decorated with a gilt star, united by a fillet, on which was engraved the word, Constitution, thus representing the twenty-four states connected by one common tie. The pediment, in imitation of yellow Verona marble, supported two figures of Fame with trumpets, and carrying banners entwined with laurel, having on them the names of Lafayette and Washington; the whole was surmounted by the national eagle. The upper socle supported an entablature of seven feet, on which was inscribed, in English and French, “A grateful republic dedicates this monument to Lafayette.” On the top of the monument was a group representing Wisdom resting her hand on a bust of the immortal Franklin, and the four angles were decorated with rich national trophies. The names of the signers of the declaration of independence, and those of officers who had distinguished themselves during the war of the revolution, were inscribed on various parts of the arch. This beautiful edifice, designed by Mr. Pilié, and executed by Mr. Fogliardi, presented a striking appearance, and the reliefs had an admirable effect.

Under this monument the general was received by the municipal body, at the head of whom was the mayor, Mr. Roffignac, who addressed him in the name of the citizens of New Orleans.

In expressing his thanks to Mr. Roffignac, the general did not permit such an occasion to escape him, of paying a tribute of esteem to the memory of the father of this worthy magistrate. “On my entrance into this capital,” said he, “I feel penetrated with gratitude for the reception I have met with from the people of New Orleans and its worthy mayor, whose name recalls to a cotemporary of his father’s, recollections of courage and loyalty.” Mr. Roffignac appeared extremely affected by this testimony of the general’s to the exalted character of his father, and the tears that escaped from his eyes proved the depth of his feelings.

After leaving the triumphal arch, the general was conducted, amidst the acclamations of an immense crowd, to the city hall, where he was complimented by Mr. Prieur in the name of the city council; from here we went to the hotel of the municipality, where our quarters had been prepared, and which the people of New Orleans designated by the name of the “Lafayette house.” After taking a few moments of repose, the general went out on a balcony to review the troops. All the detachments that passed were remarkable for the elegance of their uniform, and the exactness of their discipline. The grenadiers, the voltigeurs, Union guards, chasseurs, New Orleans guards, Lafayette guards, each in turn attracted the attention of the general. But when, in the rear of the riflemen, whose name recalls so many recollections of gallantry, he perceived a file of a hundred Choctaws, marching, according to the Indian custom, in a single line, he was much gratified to see, that, by a delicate attention, they had shown him that his name was familiar to the warriors of the most distant nations, and that they had admitted among their troops, these brave Indians, who had been the allies of the Americans in the Seminole war, and, who, for nearly a month past, had been encamped near the city, in order to see the “great warrior,” “the brother of their great father Washington.”

The next day, the general received the visits of the vice president of the house of representatives, and of those members of the legislature who were then in the capital, and immediately afterwards the gentlemen of the bar, headed by Mr. Derbigny, who had been chosen their orator, were presented to him. In a discourse filled with noble thoughts, and pronounced with a touching eloquence, Mr. Derbigny eulogised with delicacy and address, that rectitude of mind, and firmness of character, which, during political tempests, had always guided Lafayette in the path of justice, and preserved him from participating in the excesses of party.

In his reply, the general, carefully avoiding any allusion to the eulogies that had been heaped upon him, confined himself to the consideration of the general interests of Louisiana, and the individual exertions of those who complimented him; he felicitated the citizens of that state, after having been governed by the criminal laws of France and Spain, that they gradually ameliorated them, and were still occupied in perfecting this part of their code, to such a degree, that it might even serve as a guide to the rest of the United States, whose criminal laws are already so superior to those of every other people.

Being strongly urged to visit both the French and American theatres on the same evening, the general decided by lot which he would attend the first; chance was in favour of the American. We went there at seven o’clock, and were received with an enthusiasm that cannot be described; they gave an appropriate piece, of which neither he nor the audience could appreciate the merit, as every eye was attracted by the hero of Yorktown, who completely withdrew all attention from the representation of the Prisoner of Olmutz. He afterwards went to the French theatre, where they were impatiently expecting his appearance. When he entered, the violence of the plaudits, and the repeated cries of “Vive Lafayette,” suspended the representation. Every body rose; it was like Themistocles appearing at the Olympic games: at last, calm being re-established, the general took his seat in the box that had been prepared for him, and saw with pleasure the last act of that charming comedy, L’Ecole des Vieillards, which seemed to me to be as much relished by my former countrymen, the Americans of Louisiana, as by the inhabitants of Paris. Before he retired, the general heard an ode which was performed to his honour, all the allusions of which were applauded with enthusiasm.

In the course of Tuesday morning, a deputation of the Spanish emigrants and refugees presented themselves to compliment the general; and, above all, to testify their gratitude for the manner in which he opposed, in the Chamber of Deputies in France, the invasion of Spain, and the destruction of the liberal constitution.

The general, whose principles had led him to oppose, with all his energy, a measure disapproved of by France—a measure which had produced such disastrous results to Spain, and the heroic victims of which were now before him, was deeply affected by the expressions of gratitude now showered upon him; and, in an eloquent and impressive reply, paid his tribute of esteem, admiration, and regret, to the memory of the unfortunate Riego; he had already, on more than one occasion, openly expressed his opinion on the unhappy death of that generous martyr to liberty, and the whole American nation had partaken of the same feelings, for the consistent and courageous defender of the revolution in the peninsula.

On the following day, many other deputations waited on General Lafayette, and expressed to him their attachment, and devotion to his principles. Among them were those of the militia staff, of the medical society, of the clergy, and of the free blacks, who, in 1815, courageously assisted in the defence of the city; and our two last evenings were occupied, the one by a public ball, and the other by a masonic dinner. I will not attempt to describe these entertainments, which, from the beauty, elegance, and amiability of the ladies, the enthusiasm and frank cordiality of the citizens, the sedulous and delicate attentions of the magistrates, the richness and profusion of the details, equalled any thing we had ever met with.

Nevertheless, in the midst of the pleasures thus afforded him by the Louisianians, the general experienced moments of inquietude and sorrow. Sinister rumours reached him; he was told of a serious dispute between the staff and the officers of the militia, on the subject of certain prerogatives of the legion, denied by one, and insisted on by the others with equal warmth, which might produce bloody results after the departure of him whose presence was a curb even on the most headstrong. In so serious an affair he did not hesitate on using all his influence to reconcile citizens, whom a moment of error and a false point of honour had temporarily divided; he, therefore, invited all the officers of the different corps to meet at his house. When they arrived, he told them that they were, doubtless, aware of his reasons in thus bringing them together; that he was informed of what had passed, and the evil consequences that would ensue; he observed, that he felt that he was the cause, however unwillingly, and could he have foreseen such unpleasant circumstances, he should have written to decline their invitation. He begged them to consider the injurious reports it would occasion as regarded all parties, and concluded by begging that they would accept of him as a mediator.

One of the superior officers immediately advanced, and with an honourable frankness said to him, “General, I place my honour in your hands, and now agree to whatever you may dictate.” The eldest of the complainants then observed, “General, I also confide my honour, and that of my comrades, who freely agree with me, in your keeping.” The general took a hand of each of these brave men, and having united them, had the satisfaction of seeing the happiest concord established between men, who an instant before had renounced the pleasing title of brothers in arms. This interesting scene had many witnesses, who soon promulgated the details. The news of it was received with astonishing enthusiasm, as it was a sincere reconciliation between all that Louisiana cherished and revered.

General Lafayette had intended to visit the scene of the battle of the 8th of January, but the continuance of stormy weather, and the necessity for his complying in two or three days to all the kind invitations that were heaped upon him, obliged him to relinquish the idea. A colonel of the staff, who witnessed the chagrin this sacrifice occasioned me, had the goodness to propose that I should accompany him, whilst the general was paying some private visits. I accepted his invitation with eagerness, and we immediately set out in a carriage he sent for. On the way he informed me that he was born in France; that placed, from his birth, in the privileged class of society, he had, from his infancy, been brought up in the aristocratic prejudices of his caste; and that, although very young at the epoch of the French revolution, he believed it his duty to defend the rights of a few against the natural and sacred rights of the many, and that he had joined the Vendeans. “Then,” said he, “I believed in the legitimacy of an absolute monarchy, and in the hereditary succession of virtue, with all the fervour of ignorance, and I at first fought for them, with all the courage and devotion of fanaticism; but the campaign had not terminated before my reason, bursting the bonds with which education had loaded it, taught me, that instead of combating, as I had believed, for justice and truth, I was merely the instrument of a few men, determined to sacrifice every thing, even their country, to their own private interests, and I sheathed my sword, which I ought never to have drawn in so unjust, so absurd a cause.” He went on to say, that he would have re-entered France, but was deterred by the scenes of bloodshed and confusion then so prevalent in that country. He, therefore, sought in other lands that happiness he was denied at home. After traversing all Europe, and every where finding the same criminal alliance of royalty, nobility, and clergy, against the welfare and interests of the people, he finally settled in the United States. He added, “I had only lived at New Orleans a short time, when, in 1815, the inveterate enemies of the liberty of others in both hemispheres presented themselves before that city. I flew to arms, happy in finding an occasion of proving my gratitude to my new country, and my sincere attachment to the principles which governed it, and I am happy in being able to say, that my presence was not wholly useless on the field of battle we are about to visit.”

My companion had scarcely uttered these words, when our carriage stopped, and we stept out near the extreme right of the lines. Before examining them, the colonel had the goodness to explain to me the operations that preceded and brought on the battle of the 8th. I understood, from these details, how difficult it had been for General Jackson, with the handful of men he had at his disposition, to oppose the landing and rapid progress of an army of 15,000 men, or quadruple his own.

The position chosen by the American general to wait for reinforcements, and to arrest the advance of so formidable an enemy, appeared to me to be very judicious. He threw up entrenchments about five miles below the city, along an old canal, the left of which was lost in the depths of a swampy wood, whilst the right rested on the river. The total length of this line was about eight hundred toises, but as three hundred toises of the left were unassailable, the enemy was confined in his attack to a front of about five hundred toises, and obliged to advance in full view over a perfectly level plain. Nevertheless, whether from want of time, or want of reflection, General Jackson committed two serious errors; the first was in erecting his entrenchment in a straight line, and at right angles to the river, so that he not only deprived himself of the advantage of cross fires, but he also exposed himself, if the English, more skilful or fortunate, had sent a few vessels up the river in the rear of his lines; he exposed himself, I say, to the danger of having had his whole line enfiladed by the enemy’s artillery. The other fault was, erecting his second line at so great a distance from the first, that if this had been forced, he would never have been enabled to have gained the other, and his troops would have been cut to pieces in the interval. These two faults would have sufficed, as may readily be supposed, to compromit the safety of an army more numerous and better disciplined than that of General Jackson; but the destiny of American liberty, or rather the supernatural courage of the citizens, who, on that day, fought for the preservation of their independence, and the safety of their families, with the inflexible firmness of Jackson himself, shaded with the laurels of a most brilliant victory those faults which would have destroyed a less patriotic army.

I will record the details, which were given me with great clearness and precision, of all the operations that preceded that glorious day. I refer those who wish to study them to the excellent memoir of Mr. Lacarriere Latour, and to the equally distinguished accounts of Messrs. Brackenridge and Mac Fee; but I cannot resist the desire of now retracing some of the most brilliant acts which saved Louisiana, and immortalized its defenders.

Notwithstanding all his exertions, General Jackson was unable to collect for the defence of his entrenchments more than 3,200 men, and fourteen pieces of cannon of different calibers, pressed for time, he had been obliged to form the upper part of his works with bales of cotton, brought down from the city. He remained twenty-four hours in this position, expecting an attack every instant, when, on the 8th of January, at break of day, he perceived the English army, 12,000 strong, advancing on him in three columns, the most formidable of which menaced that part of his left wing, defended by the Tennessee and Kentucky militia. Each soldier, besides his arms, carried fascines or a scaling ladder, and marched in the most profound silence. The Americans permitted them to advance within half cannon shot, and then opened on them a terrible fire of artillery, to which the English replied by three cheers, and the flight of some Congreve rockets, and then hurried their march, closing their ranks as they were mowed down by the shot. This coolness and determination, which seemed as if it would ensure them a speedy victory, did not last long. The moment they arrived within musket shot, the Tennesseans and Kentuckians commenced a fire of small arms, which instantly broke their columns, and forced them to seek for shelter behind some thickets, which covered their right. It is true, that infantry never kept up so constant and destructive a fire, as that of these intrepid American militia. The men, arranged six deep, loaded the arms, and rapidly passed them to the front rank, composed of able marksmen, each of whose balls carried certain death to the enemy.

Whilst the English officers, with a courage worthy of a better cause and of a happier destiny, endeavoured to rally their scattered troops, to lead them to a fresh assault, an American artilleryman, in the battery commanded by Lieutenant Spotts, perceived in the plain, a group of officers, agitated and dismayed, carrying off some one with some difficulty. “It is perhaps the commander-in-chief and only wounded,” exclaimed he, “he must not escape so.” He levelled his piece against them, fired, and Packenham the English commander was killed in the arms of his friends. The desire for revenge now rallied the English; officers and soldiers pressed forward in a new column, led on with fury by Kean and Gibbs, the successors of Packenham. But the fire of the Americans redoubled in intensity and precision; Kean and Gibbs successively fell, the one mortally, the other dangerously wounded, and the column again broken, disappeared, leaving only its wreck on the plain.

Whilst in the centre of the line the American troops were thus crushing their adversaries, without the loss of a single man, fortune seemed as if she wished to try them on the right by a reverse. Twelve hundred English, led by a daring chief, rapidly advanced along the river, and unexpectedly fell on a small redoubt, defended by a company of riflemen and one of the 7th regiment. The Americans, surprised at this point, at first retired in some disorder. General Jackson, whose vigilant eye let nothing escape, at this decisive moment perceived an English officer mounted on the entrenchments, brandishing in one hand his sabre, and with the other assisting his soldiers to scale the rampart. Jackson hastened to the spot, met the runaways, arrested their flight, and, in a terrible voice, demanded of their commander who had given him orders to retreat. “The enemy has forced our entrenchments,” replied the captain. “Well,” answered Jackson in a severe voice, “go back and with your bayonets force them out.” This order was immediately executed. In an instant the English, who at first thought themselves victors, fell under the blows of the Americans. Among the slain, was the intrepid Colonel Rennie, an ancient French emigrant who had entered the English service; the same that had been seen so boldly surmounting the rampart, aiding and encouraging his soldiers in the assault.

This battle, which decided the fate of New Orleans, and perhaps even of Louisiana, only lasted three hours, and cost the Americans but seven men killed and six wounded, whilst the English left near three thousand men and fourteen pieces of cannon on the field. General Lambert, the only one of the English generals in a state to command, ordered a retreat, and hastened to seek shelter for himself and the wreck of his army, on board Admiral Cochran’s fleet, who, the evening before, had said with his accustomed boasting, that if he were ordered to attack the American lines, he would carry them in less than half an hour, with two thousand sailors, sabre in hand.

Thus, a small army, composed of citizens hastily collected, and commanded by a general whose military career had just commenced, beheld an English army, which passed for one of the bravest and most experienced in Europe, and which boasted it had expelled the French from Spain, fall before its patriotic efforts.

When I returned to the city, I found General Lafayette surrounded by numbers of ladies and citizens of all ranks, who, knowing that he would leave them the next morning, mournfully came to bid him farewell, and once more to take him by the hand. In the crowd I remarked some ecclesiastics, and among them a capuchin, whose dress being new to me had attracted my attention on the day of our arrival. The account I heard of him interested me strongly, and may perhaps be equally so to my readers.

Father Anthony, for such is his name, is a venerable capuchin friar of the order of St. Francis, and has resided in Louisiana for many years. Animated by an ardent and sincere piety, Father Anthony prays in silence for all the world without asking prayers of any one. Placed in the midst of a population composed of different sects, he does not think it right to trouble their consciences by endeavours to gain proselytes. Sometimes, as being a capuchin, Father Anthony asks alms, but it is only when he has some good action in view, and his slender funds, exhausted by his constant charity, deny him the power of doing it himself. Every year, when the yellow fever, in stretching its murderous hand over New Orleans, drives the terrified inhabitants to the country, to seek an asylum against disease and death, the virtue of Father Anthony shows itself in all its brilliancy and force. During this time of dread and grief, how many unhappy wretches, abandoned by their friends or even by their relations, have owed their recovery and life to his exertions, his care, his piety. Of all those he has saved, (and there are many,) there is not one who can say, “before he lavished his care on me, did he ask of what religion I was.” Liberty and charity, such is the moral code of Father Anthony; hence he is not in favour with the bishop. When he came to visit the general, he was dressed, according to the custom of his order, in a long brown robe, tied about his middle with a thick cord. The moment he perceived him, he threw himself into his arms, exclaiming, “O my son, I have found favour before the Lord, since he has thus permitted me to see and hear the worthiest apostle of liberty!” He then conversed a few moments with him in a tone of the most tender affection, complimented him on the glorious and well-merited reception he had met with from the Americans, and modestly retired into a corner of the room, apart from the crowd. I took advantage of this, to approach and salute him. How deeply was I touched by his conversation!—what sweetness! what modesty! and at the same time what enthusiasm! Every time that he spoke of liberty his eyes sparkled with a sacred light, and his looks were fastened on him he termed his hero, on Lafayette. “How happy must he be,” said he, “how pure is the source of all his glory! with what transport he must contemplate the result of his labours and sacrifices! Twelve millions of men happy and free through him! Yes! this man is certainly beloved by God. He has done so much good to others.” He came again to see us the morning before our departure. When the crowd had quitted the room, and he was left alone with the general, he hastened to him, and pressing him with transport to his bosom, “Adieu, my son,” cried he, “adieu, best beloved general! Adieu! may the Lord attend you, and after the termination of your glorious journey, conduct you to the bosom of your beloved family, to enjoy in peace the recollection of your good actions and of the friendship of the American people. O, my son, perhaps you are still reserved for new labours! Perhaps the Lord may make you the instrument of freeing other nations. Then, my son, think of poor Spain! Do not abandon my dear country, my unhappy country!” The tears flowing from his eyes, moistened his long beard, whitened by age; his voice was interrupted by sobs; and the venerable old man, leaning his forehead on the shoulder of Lafayette, remained in this attitude a few moments, still murmuring, “My son, my dear son, do something for my unhappy country.” It was not without deep emotion that the general tore himself from the arms of this pious patriot, who, before he retired, also bestowed his benediction on Mr. George Lafayette.

But the 15th being fixed for our departure, from the dawn of day the avenues to the general’s apartment were filled with even a greater assemblage than that of the evening before. There were present a great number of ladies, and particularly crowds of children brought by their parents, that they might contemplate the features of the benefactor of the country, the friend of the great Washington. The general left the house on foot. Cries of Vive Lafayette were heard on every side. In crossing the parade ground, on which were several companies of the legion and troops of the line, lining the avenues, he expressed his gratitude to all the officers whom he met; he again testified to Mr. Gally, the captain of artillery, how much he appreciated the merit of the fine corps he commanded; and, as he understood that this officer intended going to France in a short time, he begged him, in the most pressing manner, to have the goodness to carry news of him to his family at La Grange. He got into a carriage at the extremity of the parade ground, to proceed to the place of embarkation, where the steam-boat that was to take him to Baton-Rouge now waited for him. The levee was crowded by an innumerable concourse of people. The balconies, roofs of the houses, all the shipping and steam-boats which were near this spot, were filled with spectators; and, when he went on board, he was saluted by a prolonged acclamation, but it was not repeated, and more than ten thousand persons remained in a state of profound silence, until the Natchez was out of sight. The artillery only was heard at intervals, giving a solemnity to this separation that was profound and universal.

The governor and his staff, the mayor and municipal body, the committee of arrangement, to whom we owed so many and great obligations, embarked with us to prolong for a few moments the pleasure of being with the general; but at two miles from the city, the most of them were obliged to leave us. It was not without profound regret that we separated from these worthy officers, whom we had only known for a few days, it is true, but yet sufficiently long to appreciate them fully.

CHAPTER VIII.

History and Constitution of Louisiana—Baton-Rouge—Natchez—State of Mississippi—Voyage to St. Louis—Reception of General Lafayette in that city.

For a long time after the French had founded large and prosperous establishments in Canada, they were ignorant of the existence of the Mississippi; when some of their traders learnt from the Indians with whom they trafficked, that to the westward of their country there was a great river, that communicated with the Gulf of Mexico. This was in the year 1660. Three years afterwards Mr. De Frontenac, governor of Canada, wishing to verify this assertion, sent a Jesuit missionary, father Marquette, at the head of a small detachment to discover this country. The Jesuit ascended Fox river to its source, from thence traversing the Wisconsin, he descended to the mouth of the Mississippi, and found that the account of the Indians was true.

Twenty years afterwards, Count Robert de la Salle not only proved the existence of this river, but ascertained that it offered an easy communication with the ocean. He descended it from the river Illinois to the Mexican gulf, whilst father Hennepin, a franciscan, ascended it as far as the falls of St. Anthony, situated three hundred miles above that river. Count Robert took possession, in the name of the king of France, his master, of the whole course of the river with the adjacent country, and erected some forts for the protection of the settlers, which, as the soil appeared very rich, he expected to see arrive in great numbers. Nevertheless, it was not until 1699, that the first settlement was made at Biloxi, by a celebrated French naval officer, Lemoine d’Iberville, who was the first to enter the Mississippi from the sea, and ascended the river as far as Natchez, which he chose for the capital of Louisiana, calling it Rosalie, in honour of the name of Chancellor Pontchartrain’s lady. To people this new capital, some young girls and well selected soldiers were sent from France. These last were married to the girls and exempted from military duty. Each colonist was allowed some acres of land, a cow and calf, cock and hens, a gun; half a pound of powder and two pounds of lead, with a month’s provisions, were distributed to them monthly. Next came missionaries, which, instead of improving the land by the labour of their hands, or developing the resources of the colonists by their wisdom and councils, began to preach to the neighbouring Indians, in order to convert them to the catholic faith. The fruits of these labours soon began to appear; that is to say, the Indians pretended to listen to the new doctrines which were spread before them, and became hypocrites for the sake of obtaining brandy. This liquor, which was the first reward of their conversion, exasperated all the passions to which they were unfortunately predisposed; and from this time they became the most dangerous and cruel enemies of the settlement, instead of the useful neighbours which they would doubtless have been, if, without interfering with the manner in which they worshipped God, their friendly alliance only had been sought. Nevertheless, in the course of a few years, the cordiality and gentleness of the French character counteracted the unhappy influence of the missionaries, and almost all the savage tribes with the exception of the Chickasaws, made peace with the colonists and rendered them important services. Mr. de Bienville, the brother of Iberville, and at that time governor of Louisiana, yielding to his ardour for research, explored the greater part of the rivers tributary to the Mississippi, and laid the foundations of some new settlements on its banks. But none of these succeeded. The number of colonists had considerably diminished, when, in 1712, Antony Crozat, who by the Indian trade, had amassed a fortune of forty millions, purchased the grant to the whole of Louisiana, with the exclusive right of its trade for six years. His letters patent included all the rivers emptying into the Mississippi and all the lands, coasts and islands situated upon the gulf of Mexico, between Carolina on the east and Mexico on the west. But Crozat was not long in discovering how much the expectations he had founded upon this country were exaggerated, and hastened to renounce his contract for the purpose of obtaining another for the period of twenty-five years, in favour of the Mississippi Commercial Company, of which the celebrated Law was the projector. But this company was not more fortunate than Crozat. Instead of enticing into the colony such settlers as would have added to its prosperity, he received only rich and avaricious adventurers, who were attracted by the report of the mines of gold and silver, with which the country was said to abound, and, disappointed in their hopes, quickly returned to Europe. In spite of the efforts of the government instituted by the commercial company, the proprietaries were soon reduced to despair, and established military posts, where they defended themselves until reinforcements were received. The first expedition that arrived was composed of criminals and women of abandoned character, sent out by the French government. The company were justly indignant at this, and declared, that in future they would not suffer the colony to be thus morally and physically polluted.

In 1718, New Orleans, consisting of a few cabins built by Illinois traders, and thus named in honour of the regent Duke of Orleans, passed under the jurisdiction of the governor-general, M. de Bienville, and received a considerable number of new settlers. Two villages were built in its vicinity by Germans, under the command of Arensburg, a Swedish captain, who, in 1709, had fought by the side of Charles XII. at the battle of Pultowa. The colony now began really to prosper, and in 1723 swarms of capuchins, missionaries, jesuits, and pious ursulines, began to arrive from all directions. These last at least were good for something. They were entrusted with the education of orphan girls, and the superintendance of the military hospital, with a pension of fifty thousand crowns per annum. Intolerance, the inseparable accompaniment of all privileges, and especially those of religion, began to show itself in the colony, as soon as the capuchins, jesuits, &c. made their appearance. In 1724, a royal edict expelled the Jews, as declared enemies to the Christian name, and they were ordered to disappear in the course of three months, under penalty of imprisonment and confiscation of property. It was thus that the throne and church watched then, as it did before, and has done since, to dry up the most abundant sources of public prosperity. In 1729, the intrigues of England raised the Indians against the colony, and thus gave a sad blow to its prosperity. The war then carried on by General Perrier de Salvert, had a fortunate termination. Meanwhile it was only through the attachment of some Indian women to a few French officers, that the garrison escaped being totally massacred one night; which would have led to the entire destruction of the colony. In consequence of these late hostilities, and the base intrigues carried on in the metropolis, the colonists lost their time together with the fruits of their labours. The company, disgusted and deceived in their hopes of gain, abandoned the country, which, in 1731, returned under the dominion of the king, without being any better governed. In 1759, its financial affairs were in such disorder, that the treasury owed more than seven millions of francs, although the French government had expended for various services in Louisiana, nearly double the amount it had derived from it. Louis XV., at the close of a war badly conceived, and, in 1763, as badly terminated, having lost Canada, was upon the point of having Louisiana taken from him. But his ministers, assisted by Madame Pompadour, his mistress, obtained fifteen millions from the court of Madrid, and this colony was ceded to Spain with such secrecy and despatch, that the governor of Louisiana had not yet received information of the affair when the Spanish ships of war arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi, with the officers appointed to take possession of this immense territory. The governor and inhabitants of Louisiana refused to recognise the Spanish authority, so that the commissioners were obliged to return to Europe. Three or four years passed in negotiating with the colonists, who persisted in continuing under the dominion of France. At length, in 1769, Spain becoming provoked, sent out General Reilly with considerable forces. Arrived before New Orleans, Reilly manifested the most conciliatory disposition. His proclamations only spoke of oblivion for the past, and were completely successful. The commotions ceased, and the Louisianians surrendered themselves. As a sign of reconciliation, Reilly gave a grand entertainment on board his fleet, to which he invited the chief officers of the colony, and principal inhabitants. These accepted the invitation with confidence, but at the moment when they were about to leave the table, Reilly caused them to be seized by his soldiers and shot. One of these, M. De Villeré, had his life spared, but was put on board a frigate to be transported to the prisons of Navarre. His wife and children, informed of the fate that threatened him, wished to go and petition his highness, or at least to receive his farewell. They were already near the frigate, from which he stretched out his arms to them, when the unhappy man fell within their sight, pierced by the bayonets of the villains whom the traitor Reilly had appointed to guard him.

After this horrible execution, the Spaniards, with four thousand troops of the line, and a considerable train of artillery, entered New Orleans, the inhabitants of which were struck dumb. The English protestants, and a few Jews, who had escaped the force of the royal decree of 1724, were soon banished by the new authorities. All commerce with the colony was prohibited except with Spain and her possessions. A court martial was established, and its iniquitous decisions struck at all the French officers who remained. Of these, five were shot, and seven others thrown, for ten years, into the prisons of Havana. The infamous Reilly, having for a whole year gorged himself with blood and plunder, at length set sail, carrying with him the scorn and hatred of the whole population. His successors in the government had great difficulty in doing away the effects of his crimes, and it is due them to say that they succeeded. During thirty-three years of Spanish dominion, the colony enjoyed peace and prosperity, and to this very day, the names of Don Unsuga, Don Martin Navarro, and Don Galvar, are remembered there with veneration.

During all the changes experienced by Louisiana, its boundaries had never been determined with accuracy. In 1795, the government of the United States made a treaty with Spain, in virtue of which the limits were traced, and the free navigation of the Mississippi secured to the two contracting parties. But notwithstanding this treaty the owners of privateers, and crews of vessels of war, made spoliations upon the commerce of the United States. Free navigation of the Mississippi, and permission of landing at New Orleans, were refused the Americans. President Adams, therefore, immediately took measures to obtain redress. Twelve regiments were raised, and an expedition fitted out upon the Ohio to descend to Louisiana. But some changes occurring in American politics caused this project to be abandoned for the moment. The next year, Mr. Jefferson, then president of the United States, re-demanded of Spain the fulfilment of the treaty. This power, sensible of its weakness, and fearing to be compelled to cede the colony, secretly sold it to the French Republic on the 21st of March, 1801. Upon hearing of this cession the American government were justly alarmed. It foresaw, that the activity and intelligence of the French, applied to so rich and productive a soil, would make them more formidable than the Spaniards; that their new neighbours might be able to close the navigation of the Mississippi against them, and possess themselves of the commerce of the Gulf of Mexico and Antilles. It immediately formed the project of forcibly opposing the occupation of Louisiana by France, and joined England against her. But this plan was overthrown by the treaty of Amiens. At peace with England, France feared no further obstacles to her projects, and an expedition was fitted out by her to take possession of Louisiana, and at the same time support her wavering authority in St. Domingo. The American government immediately had recourse to negotiations for the purpose of purchasing Louisiana. Affairs, at that time, changed with such rapidity, that the situation of France had again altered before these propositions reached her. Threatened with a new war by England, wearied with the struggle to defend St. Domingo, loaded with a considerable debt due the United States, the first consul thought that the sale of Louisiana would prove a good operation, the opportunity of effecting which might relieve him from one difficulty, at least. He accordingly sold it. The United States agreed to pay him fifteen millions of dollars, on condition that three millions seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars of this sum, should be retained for the purpose of paying the claims held by the American merchants against France, for the spoliations they had suffered. This treaty, signed at Paris the 30th of April, 1803, by Messrs. Livingston and Monroe on the part of the United States, and Mr. Barbé Marbois for France, was ratified in the month of October, and the transfer of the colony to the American commissioners took place on the 20th of December in the same year.

All the parties interested in this bargain had reason to be satisfied with its conclusion. France, freeing herself from the trouble of a distant government, more burthensome than profitable, received sixty millions of francs, which she needed to carry on the war, and, without expending a cent, discharged a debt due the American merchants of nearly twenty millions. The United States strengthened their independence, acquired new frontiers more secure than the old ones, established her commercial preponderance in the Gulf of Mexico and Antilles, and, by the free navigation of the Mississippi, increased an hundred fold the value of the products of the states west of the Allegany. In fine, Louisiana herself, by entering into the great federal compact, secured an honourable and independent existence as a body politic, and soon saw her industry and prosperity freed from the cunning schemes of a capricious master.

Louisiana was immediately erected into a territorial government, by the congress of the United States, which appointed Mr. Clayborne its governor. In 1811, it was admitted a member of the Union, and left to form its own government and institutions. The representatives of the people, freely elected and assembled at New Orleans, framed and signed a constitution, which was laid before, and sanctioned by congress. This constitution was in conformity with, and very similar to those of the other states, except that the Louisianians believed it their duty to adopt every possible precaution against corruption and abuse of power. Thus, for example, it was decided that every person, convicted of having given or offered presents to public functionaries, should be declared incapable of serving as governor, senator, or representative.

If I thought it necessary to seek fresh proofs of the superiority of an independent over a colonial government, whether this last proceed from a monarchy or republic, it would suffice to point out Louisiana, at first a colony for nearly a century, without advancing beyond the stage of infancy, incessantly taken and retaken, sometimes by the Spaniards, at others by the French, and always incapable of resisting either the one or the other, after an expense to its metropolis of one hundred and eighty-seven thousand dollars per annum; and, in fine, after the numerous emigrations from Europe, exhibiting but a meagre population of about forty thousand souls, spread over a vast and rich territory. I would next show this same Louisiana, after twenty years of independent republican government, having more than trebled its population, defeating under the walls of its rich capital, an army composed of the chosen troops of England; receiving into its ports annually more than four hundred ships to exchange its valuable products for those of all parts of the habitable globe; and, in its cities, offering all the resources, all the enjoyments that can contribute to the happiness of life, and which are ordinarily the products of a long period of civilization.

The state of Louisiana, enclosed within its new limits, is situated between 29° and 33° n. l. and 12° and 17° of longitude. It is bounded on the north by Arkansas territory, east by the Mississippi, south by the Mexican gulf, and west by the Mexican provinces of Texas. It contains forty-eight thousand square miles, divided into twenty-six parishes or counties. It has a population of 153,500 souls, among which, unfortunately, nearly 70,000 slaves are enumerated. The capital of this state is New Orleans, a city admirably situated in a commercial point of view, regularly laid out, ornamented with fine buildings, and containing twenty-eight thousand inhabitants. The greatest inconvenience which New Orleans labours under, is its situation upon the alluvial shores of the Mississippi, by whose floods it is often inundated. This is perhaps the principal cause of the yellow fever which is experienced there almost every autumn. The impossibility of finding a single stone in all this alluvial ground, shows why the principal streets have been left unpaved, so that during the rainy season it is difficult to go about on foot. The walks made in front of the houses scarcely serve to keep foot passengers from the mud, and do not prevent the carriages from sinking sometimes to their axles. The authorities, however, have at length begun to procure paving stone from up the Mississippi, which the vessels bring as ballast. This plan, though tedious and expensive, is the only one practicable.

The greater number of travellers who have visited New Orleans, pretend that the manners of the city are strongly influenced by the presence of the numerous emigrants from St. Domingo. These have the reputation of loving pleasure to licentiousness, and of treating their slaves badly. The love of gambling, and the duels so often occasioned by this passion, give rise, it is said, to much disorder among them. To confirm or disprove this opinion by my own observation, would be, in me, culpable arrogance. My too short stay in this city did not permit me to study the character of its society, and I could only be struck with the patriotic spirit, the freedom and hospitality, displayed with enthusiasm in the presence of General Lafayette.[^[8]]

Twenty-four hours after leaving New Orleans, we arrived at Duncan’s Point, where the citizens of Baton-Rouge, a town situated eight miles above, had previously sent a deputation to General Lafayette, to request him to stop a short time amongst them. The general accepted the invitation with gratitude, and two hours afterwards we landed below the amphitheatre upon which the town of Baton-Rouge stands. The beach was crowded with citizens, at the head of whom marched the municipal authorities, and the first regiment of the Union came to form itself in line under the same star-spangled banner, which, in defiance of the greatest dangers, had but lately been planted upon the ruins of Spanish despotism, by the inhabitants of these parishes. Accompanied by the people and magistrates, the general proceeded to the room prepared for his reception, in which he found the busts of Washington and Jackson crowned with flowers and laurel. There he received the expressions of kindness from all the citizens, with whom he went to the fort, the garrison of which received him with a salute of twenty-four guns, and afterwards defiled before him. We then entered the main building to examine the interior of the barracks, but what was our surprise, on entering into the first apartment, to find in the place of beds, arms, and warlike equipments, a numerous assemblage of elegantly dressed and beautiful ladies, who surrounded the general and offered him refreshments and flowers. The general was sensibly touched by this agreeable surprise, and passed some delightful moments in the midst of this seducing garrison. On our return to town, we found a great number of citizens met to offer the general a public dinner, among whom the frank cordiality of the American, and the amenity of the French characters prevailed.

It was almost night when we returned on board the Natchez to continue our voyage. On leaving Baton-Rouge, we had the mortification to part again with some of those who had accompanied us from New Orleans, and among others, with Mr. Duplantier, senior, whose active and tender friendship, as well as that of his son, had been of great service to the general.

Baton-Rouge stands upon the left bank of the river, one hundred and thirty-seven miles above New Orleans. In this passage, the navigation of the river is very interesting. For several miles after leaving New Orleans, the eye reposes agreeably upon the shores, enriched with fine cotton and sugar plantations, and embellished with clusters of orange trees, from the midst of which rise the white and showy dwellings of the planters. By degrees the gardens and houses become more rare; but all the way to Baton-Rouge one continues to see fine and well cultivated lands. These plantations spread along the river, sometimes extending nearly a mile back to the thick forests, which serve as their limits. The soil is entirely formed of the fertile sediments deposited by the ancient inundations of the Mississippi, now confined to its channel by artificial banks. A special law enjoins it upon each river proprietor to keep up with care that portion of dike opposite his property, so that one every where sees the slaves continually engaged in driving down stakes, interlacing the branches of trees, and heaping earth here and there where there is danger that the river will force a passage. But notwithstanding all precautions, the water often rushes furiously over these obstacles, and spreads devastation and death. Not a year passes without some proprietor having the misfortune to see snatched from him in a few minutes the fruits of long and laborious exertions. All the lands which border the Mississippi, from its outlet to six hundred miles above, are subject to inundations. Nevertheless, on leaving Baton-Rouge, the left shore appears sufficiently elevated above the surface of the water to be free from these accidents.

The distance between Baton-Rouge and Natchez, is two hundred and sixty miles. This we ran in thirty-two hours, having had a pleasant passage, in the course of which we met a great many boats of all forms and sizes, laden with all sorts of productions from the most distant points of the Union. Those which more particularly attracted our attention were large and of a square form, without either masts, sails, or oars. They floated down the river at the mercy of the current, and bore more resemblance to enormous boxes than to boats. They are called arks, and are commonly manned by Kentuckians, who go in this way to New Orleans, to dispose of their grain, poultry, and cattle. There, after receiving pay for their produce, they sell also the planks of their arks, which cannot ascend the river, and return to their homes on foot, across the forests of the states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. More than fifteen hundred persons, it is said, travel thus, every summer, seventeen hundred miles by water, and afterwards, in returning, eleven hundred on foot.[^[9]]

On Monday, the 18th of April, some distant discharges of cannon, which we heard at dawn, announced our approach to a city. Some minutes afterwards, the first rays of the sun gilding the shores of the Mississippi, which, in this place, rose a hundred and fifty feet above the surface of the water, showed us the tops of the houses in Natchez. Our steam-boat stopped a little while previous to arriving opposite the town, and we went on shore at Bacon’s landing, where the citizens, with a calash and four horses, and an escort of cavalry and volunteer infantry, were waiting for the general. We might have landed a little higher up and entered the city by a more direct road, but the members of the committee of arrangement had the address to conduct us by a devious road, along which our eyes were presented with all the beauties of the country. In proportion as we advanced, the escort increased. It consisted of citizens on horseback, militia on foot, ladies in carriages, and nearly the whole population, who came in a crowd to see their beloved and long expected guest. Two addresses were made to the general; one by the president of the committee of arrangement, on entering the city; the other by the mayor, on one of the most elevated spots on the banks of the Mississippi, within view of the town and the river, its source of prosperity. At the moment the general finished his reply, a man suddenly emerged from the crowd, approached the calash, waving his hat in the air, and cried out, “Honour to the commander of the Parisian national guard! I was under your orders in ’91, my general, in one of the battalions of the Filles-Saint-Thomas. I still love liberty as I loved it then: Live, Lafayette!” The general was agreeably surprised to meet, on the shores of a distant country, one of his old citizen soldiers, who recalled to him in so touching a manner the happy times when he could rationally think of the happiness and liberty of his country. He affectionately offered him his hand, and expressed to him the pleasure he felt in thus meeting him in a land of liberty and hospitality.

At the moment we were preparing to enter our hotel, we observed a long procession of children of both sexes approaching us. They were led by Colonel Marshall, who requested of the general for them, and in their name, permission to shake hands with him. The general willingly complied with this wish of the children of Natchez, who marched in order before him, placing successively one of their little hands in that which had fought for the liberty of their fathers. The parents, spectators of this scene, contemplated it with silence and emotion. On its termination, I heard them congratulate each other on the happy influence which this day would have upon the future characters of their children. “When they have grown up,” said they, “and come to read their country’s history, they will find the name of Lafayette intimately connected with all the events which led to the freedom of their fathers, they will recall the gentleness of his manners, the mildness of his voice, when he received them in their infancy, and will feel an increased love for a liberty won by such a man.”

The inhabitants of Natchez neglected nothing which could contribute to the pleasure of their guest during the twenty-four hours he remained with them. The public dinner concluded with toasts, To the Nation’s Guest—The triumph of Yorktown—France fighting for the liberty of the world—The victory of New Orleans—in fact to all glorious and patriotic American recollections. It was not until after the ball which closed about daybreak, that the general could think of embarking. The ladies employed all the charms of mind and person to retain him as long as possible, but our minutes were counted; and six o’clock in the morning found us again on board our vessel.

At the moment when the general was about to leave the shore, an old revolutionary soldier presented himself, and uncovering his breast marked with scars, “these wounds,” said he, “are my pride. I received them fighting by your side for the independence of my country. Your blood, my general, flowed the same day at the battle of Brandywine, where we were so unfortunate.” “It was indeed a rough day,” said the general to him, “but have we not since been amply indemnified?”—“Oh! that is very true,” replied the veteran, “at present we are happy beyond our furthest wishes. You receive the blessings of ten millions of freemen, and I press the hand of my brave general! virtue always has its reward!” Every one applauded the enthusiasm and frankness of the old soldier, whom the general cordially greeted.

On leaving Natchez, we parted from the worthy Mr. Johnson, governor of Louisiana, who would not consent to leave the general whilst within his own state. He now placed us under the care of the state of Mississippi, and left with us, for the purpose of doing the honours of Louisiana as far as St. Louis, Messrs. Prieur, recorder of the councils of New Orleans, Caire, his private secretary, and Morse and Ducros, his aides-de-camp. In taking leave of the governor, General Lafayette evinced the most sincere affection, and desired him to express in his name all the gratitude with which he was penetrated by his cordial reception in Louisiana.

Natchez was formerly the capital of the state of Mississippi, but has ceased to be so in consequence of not being in a central situation. Its population is nearly three thousand, and its port is the place of rest and provisioning for vessels passing between New Orleans and the western states, which gives it a great deal of activity. This city was founded in 1717, by some French soldiers and workmen who had been in the garrison of Fort Rosalie, and who, finding the situation good, established themselves upon it after obtaining their discharge. The most of them bought their lands from the Indians, who lived at some distance from the river, where they had five villages situated very near each other. That which they called the Great Village, where the principal chief of the nation resided, stood on a small stream called White River. It was to the west of this village that the Frenchmen, led by Hubert and Lepage, had erected Fort Rosalie.

When one has viewed the environs of Natchez, it is easy to conceive how readily the first settlers renounced their own country to fix themselves in these then savage wilds. It is difficult to find a more fertile soil, a more vigorous vegetation, or more agreeable and varied situations. The valleys afford fertile pastures, the hills are crowned with sassafras, catalpas, tulip-trees, and the superb magnolia grandiflora, the tops of which rise more than one hundred feet high, while their large white flowers deliciously perfume the air. Nevertheless, one cannot exclude the thought, that these verdant meadows, cool groves, and cheerful and vigorous nature, are sometimes visited and rendered melancholy by the yellow fever.

Natchez is the only town in Mississippi which we visited, so that I have little to say relative to this state. I shall only mention, that for a long time, with Alexandria, it formed a part of the state of Georgia, from which it was separated in 1800; that in 1817 it took its place in the Union as an independent body politic, and framed for itself a constitution. The fertility of its soil, and facilities of sending its productions to market, have contributed, in a singular degree, to the increase of its population. In 1800, it had only six thousand eight hundred and fifty inhabitants, while it now contains seventy-six thousand. If in this number, about thirty-thousand slaves are included, its prosperity must still be regarded as very great. Many large fortunes are found in this state, where it is not uncommon to meet with planters having incomes of seven or eight thousand dollars. The staple products are cotton and Indian corn.

The state of Mississippi is situated between the 30th and 35th degrees of north latitude, and the 11th and 14th degrees of west longitude from Washington. Its surface contains forty-five thousand three hundred and fifty square miles. It is bounded on the north by the state of Tennessee, east by Alabama, south by Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico, and west by Louisiana and Arkansas. Although the population is very much scattered, the land bears a considerable price, being on the banks of the river from fifty to sixty dollars per acre. The price lessens in proportion to the distance which the products have to be transported.

In leaving Natchez, we parted as it were from the civilized world. From this town to St. Louis, we did not meet with a single assemblage of houses that deserved the name of town or even village. The banks of the Mississippi again became flat, and presented nothing but grounds overflown and covered with thick forests, impenetrable to the rays of the sun. The swarms of musquitoes which rose out of it and settled in thick clouds upon travellers, rendered the voyage almost insupportable, especially during the night, if we had not taken the precaution to provide musquito curtains. The only habitations we met with were large cabins, situated upon places a little elevated above the level of the river. These were inhabited temporarily by hardy speculators from the north, who, always abandoning the good in hopes of finding better, retreat incessantly before the advance of civilization, and seek their fortunes in the wilderness. The dangers of the navigation increase with the monotony of the shores. Every moment presents some evidence of recent disaster. Here, one beholds the ravages of a hurricane which has crossed the river, and, in its devastation, has on both shores uprooted and carried off, as if they had been weak reeds, thousands of trees, which by their prodigious size were the pride of the forest. There, our captain showed us a snag or sawyer, the inclined point of which had pierced the bottom of a boat, immediately afterwards swallowed up by the flood. Further on, the wood-choppers, in giving us the necessary supplies of wood, told us of the explosion of a boiler which occasioned the death of near forty passengers; and it was not long before we ourselves saw the bank covered with travellers, who were impatiently waiting until their boat which had been pierced by a snag, should be repaired so as to be in a condition again to brave the danger from which they had so narrowly escaped.

These snags and sawyers, so formidable to the navigator, are very numerous all along the river. Snags are thrown into the stream by high floods, and, having floated some time, become fixed to the bottom of the river, with their tops either above or below the surface according to their length, but always inclining in the direction of the current. The sawyers differ from snags only in being firmly stuck in the bed of the river, and in this situation the current keeps them in constant vibration, alternately raising and depressing their summits. As their position often changes, it is difficult to avoid them; and, if vessels in ascending the river are so unfortunate as to strike against them, their destruction is almost inevitable, for they are pierced in such a manner, that the water pours through the opening, and sinks them, sometimes in a few minutes.

But persons are little disposed to be uneasy on account of these dangers, when, as in our case, they are on board a vessel skilfully managed, with all the delicacies of life, and inexhaustible resources afforded by the society of good and agreeable travelling companions. The committee of New Orleans were joined by two gentlemen from Natchez, as representatives of the state of Mississippi, near the person of General Lafayette. To the attentions and gaiety of the members of both these deputations, we were indebted for not having known a moment of tediousness or inquietude, during our long voyage. After having sailed for five days, with the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri, on our left, and the states of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky, on our right, we arrived at the mouth of Ohio, without any delays but those necessary to take in wood. This fuel was sometimes supplied us by the woodmen on the borders of the river, who live by the unlimited forests which surround them. When we could find no woodmen we often supplied ourselves. In this case, our captain, after having made his men take in the necessary quantity, left in exchange a note nailed to a tree, upon which was inscribed the number of cords he had taken, the name of his boat, his place of residence, date of his passage, and signature. This kind of commerce with the Mississippi woodmen is very common, and I have heard it said that there never has been known an example of bad faith on the part of the purchasers, who always show themselves most scrupulous in paying their accounts, which are often presented months afterwards at Natchez and New Orleans.

When arrived at the mouth of the Ohio, we had come from the city of Natchez four hundred and fifty miles. Our pilot assured us then, that the upper part of the Mississippi was too little known to him, to permit him to conduct us through the midst of dangers which were met with at every moment. In consequence of this declaration, our good Captain Davis made us enter the Ohio for the purpose of obtaining a new pilot, at the distance of four miles from its mouth, whom we were so happy as to procure immediately. On going thither, we met a steam-boat, whose narrowness and unsteady motion induced us to think, that, destined for the navigation of small streams, it only appeared upon the agitated waters of a large one upon extraordinary occasions. This steam-boat was the Artizan, bearing the Tennessee deputation, sent to desire the general to ascend the Cumberland river to Nashville, where he had been a long time expected, and where his intention of visiting St. Louis was not then known. After a short conference with the deputies of the state of Tennessee, who insisted strongly that the general should proceed immediately to their shores, it was determined that we should continue our voyage in the Natchez to St. Louis; that a part of the Tennessee deputation should come with us, and the rest remain on board the Artizan at the mouth of the Ohio until our return. These arrangements, concluded to the satisfaction of every one, we left the beautiful, to enter again the great river. We remarked, with surprise, that at the confluence of these two bodies of water, the current appeared suspended for several miles, which seems to indicate the equality in volume and force of the two rivers at this place.

After leaving the mouth of the Ohio, the appearance of the shores of the Mississippi changes entirely. The lands, more elevated, present a greater number of houses. From place to place traces of the old French establishments are visible, and beautiful islands like gardens, often present themselves to the eye of the navigator, interrupting the monotony of the river. At first he sees the isle of Birds, charming for its freshness; next those called the Two Sisters and the Dog’s Tooth; and then English Island, which recalls the first settlement made by the English in the midst of these wilds in the year 1765. This was soon destroyed by the savages, who saw with pain their old French friends dispossessed by traders whom they had never before seen. At about forty miles from the confluence, and almost opposite each other, rise capes Girardeau and Lacroix, both thus named by Mr. De Frontenac, governor of Canada, sent to ascertain the truth of the assertion made by the Indians, that from the north there came a great river which ran neither in the direction whence the Great Spirit rose, nor towards that in which he set. There is at present at Cape Girardeau a small village, recently founded, which begins to prosper. A little above, on the eastern side, are seen the ruins of ancient fortifications exhibiting a scene altogether picturesque. These are the remains of fort Chartres, constructed at great expense by the French, in 1753, for the defence of Upper Mississippi, now deserted by the Americans as altogether useless.

Some hours after having passed fort Chartres, whilst we walked the deck, our captain pointed out in the river a flock of young Louisiana geese, led by the two old ones. The elegant shape, and beautiful plumage of these fowls, made me anxious to get possession of the whole family. I immediately launched into the river a skiff manned with two sailors, and, going in the direction of the old goose, endeavoured to get the boat between her and shore. The old geese, taking fright, made their escape with loud cries, but the young ones, unable yet to fly, or escape by climbing the steep banks, soon fell into our hands. We carried off five, which our captain had the goodness to take charge of, promising to raise them with care, and forward them to New Orleans, whence Mr. Caire engaged to send them to La Grange, for the benefit of the general’s farm.[^[10]] As I was returning from this little expedition, I perceived, in the middle of the river, another very tempting game. This was a superb deer, which swam with as much calmness and ease as though it were in its native element. When it heard our cries, mingled with the noise of our steam-boat, it threw its long branching antlers upon its shoulders, and sunk in the water to escape our notice, swimming rapidly for the swiftest part of the current. As soon as it thought itself free from the danger of pursuit, it re-appeared above water, shook its antlers proudly, and tranquilly resumed its course. It is by no means rare, as we were informed, to see many of these animals thus passing from one shore of the river to the other, and visiting the fertile islands which adorn its course.

At the distance of one hundred miles from the Ohio, the shores of the Mississippi suddenly assume a more imposing appearance, rising steeply eighty or a hundred feet above the level of the water. They are composed of very hard granite. In their whole height they are impressed with deep horizontal furrows, which appear to have been caused by the friction of the water, whilst the river was at the different levels which they indicate. Some of these furrows are nearly a foot deep. They occur at unequal intervals, and mark the successive decrease of the water. At the actual level of the river the furrow is scarcely perceptible. What a length of time has, therefore, been occupied in the formation of each furrow by the sole action of the water upon a rock of such hardness? The solution of this single question would, perhaps, throw a good deal of difficulty into the calculations of the system-makers, who pretend to fix the epoch of the creation of our globe.

Some distance above, these steep rocks leave between them and the river a considerable space, in which is situated Herculaneum. The site of this village is altogether romantic, the towers, formed upon the rock, which crowns it irregularly, impart a fantastic character, and attract the curiosity of travellers. From the height of these towers, which spring from the steep rock, they throw down melted lead, which cools by rolling in the air, becomes round, and falls in the form of small shot into large receivers of water, placed beneath. The large or small size of the holes in the iron sieve, through which it is thrown while boiling hot, give the various sizes wanted for hunting. The lead mines found in abundance upon the shores of the Merrimac river, which empties into the Mississippi ten miles from this place, have given origin to these establishments, the prosperity of which increases every day.

On the evening of the 28th, we arrived at a poor little village which the French formerly founded under the sad name of Empty Pocket, better known at the present day by the name of Carondelet. Although we were not above six or seven miles from St. Louis, as we could not get there by day light, the members of the different committees in attendance upon the general, resolved to pass the night at anchor in the river, and wait till next morning to enter the town. No sooner were the inhabitants of Carondelet informed of the presence of General Lafayette in their vicinity, than they came in crowds on board the boat to see him. They were nearly all Frenchmen. For a long time, their settlement has consisted of only about sixty houses, and does not promise to increase. Unsuited to commerce, it was only occupied with agriculture, which is still its chief means of obtaining the necessaries of life. The most of them came from Canada, and fixed themselves upon a portion of land along the Mississippi without inquiring who owned it. They laboured, some for ten, others for twenty years; and none of them thought of securing the titles to the little farms produced by the sweat of their brows. At present, whilst the government of the United States are selling much of the land it possesses in these regions, these unfortunate people run a constant risk of seeing themselves dispossessed by purchasers who come to claim their property. They mentioned their inquietudes to the general, who promised to represent their situation to the federal government, and interest himself in their behalf. These good people, in the simplicity of their gratitude, offered him whom they already regarded as their protector, every thing which they thought would be agreeable; one of them brought him tame Mississippi geese; another, a young fawn which he had raised; a third, petrifactions and shells which he looked upon as precious. The general saw that if he refused these presents their feelings would be wounded; and therefore hastened to accept them and return his acknowledgements.

On the morning of the 29th of April, Governor Clark, of Missouri, Governor Coles of Illinois, and Colonel Benton, came on board; who all three came to accompany the general to St. Louis. Some minutes after, the steam-boat Plough Boy, having on board a great number of citizens, ranged along side the Natchez, and the nation’s guest was saluted by three cheers, which made the forests of the Missouri resound with Welcome, Lafayette. We then weighed anchor, and at nine o’clock saw a large number of buildings whose architecture was very fantastical, rising from the midst of beautiful green shrubbery and smiling gardens, commanding distant views of the river. This was the city of St. Louis. Its name, and the language of a great portion of its inhabitants, soon informed us of its origin. But if we were struck with the diversity of languages in which General Lafayette was saluted, we were not less so by the unity of sentiment which they manifested. The shore was covered by the whole population, who mingled their cries of joy with the roar of the cannon of our two vessels. The moment the general stepped on shore, the mayor, Dr. Lane, presented himself at the head of the municipal authorities, and greeted him with an address.

As the general concluded his reply to the mayor, an elegant calash drawn by four horses approached the shore, to conduct him to the city, through all the streets of which he was drawn in the midst of the acclamations of the people. He was attended by Mr. Augustus Choteau, a venerable old gentleman by whom St. Louis was founded, Mr. Hempstead, an old soldier of the revolution, and the mayor. These gentlemen conducted him to the house of the son of Mr. Choteau, prepared for his reception, which was thrown open to all citizens without distinction, who desired to visit the national guest. Among the visiters, the general met with pleasure Mr. Hamilton, son of General Alexander Hamilton, the former aide-de-camp to Washington, whom he so much loved, and an old French sergeant of Rochambeau’s army named Bellissime. This last could not restrain the joy he felt on seeing a countryman thus honoured by the American nation.

The inhabitants of St. Louis knew that General Lafayette could only remain a few hours with them, and they took advantage of the short time he had to dispose of to show him every thing which their city and its environs contained worthy of notice. While dinner was preparing at Mr. Peter Choteau’s, we rode out in a carriage to visit on the banks of the river those remains of ancient Indian monuments which some travellers call tombs, whilst others regard them as fortifications or places for the performance of religious ceremonies. All these opinions are unfortunately equally susceptible of discussion, for these monuments have not preserved any sufficiently well marked characters to afford foundation for satisfactory deductions. Those near St. Louis are nothing but mounds covered with green turf, the ordinary shape of which is an oblong square. Their common height is little more than eight feet, but must have been much greater before the earth they are built of was thrown down during the lapse of ages. Their sides are inclined, and the mean length of their base is from eighty to a hundred feet, their width varying from thirty to sixty feet. What leads me to believe that these fabrics of earth have never been used as strong holds in war, is, that not one of them is surrounded by ditches, and they are placed too near together. These mounds are not only met with in the environs of St. Louis, but all over the states of Missouri, Indiana, and upon the borders of Ohio, where, we are informed, they meet with much more interesting traces of the greatest antiquity, indicating that this world which we call new, was the seat of civilization, perhaps long anterior to the continent of Europe.[^[11]]

From the mounds of Saint Louis to the junction of Mississippi and Missouri, we should only have had two or three hours ride, but the time of the general was so calculated that we were obliged to forego the pleasure we should have derived from visiting the union of these two rivers, which have their sources in countries where nature yet reigns undisturbed. Returned to town, we went to see the collection of Indian curiosities made by Governor Clark, which is the most complete that is to be found. We visited it with the greater pleasure from its being shown us by Mr. Clark, who had himself collected all the objects which compose it, while exploring the distant western regions with Captain Lewis. Specimens of all the clothing, arms, and utensils for fishing, hunting, and war, in use among the various tribes living on the sources of the Missouri and Mississippi, are here to be found. Among the articles commonly worn by the Indian hunters, collars made of claws of prodigious size, particularly struck our attention. These claws, Gen. Clark informed us, are from that most terrible of all the animals of the American continent, the Grizzly Bear, of the Missouri, the ferocious instinct of which adds still more to the terror inspired by its enormous size and strength. The bears of this species meet together to the number of ten or twelve, and some times more, to chase and make a common division of their prey. Man is their favourite prey, and when they fall upon his track, they chase him with outcries like those made by our hounds in coursing a hare, and it is difficult to escape the steadiness of their pursuit.[^[12]] This animal is altogether unknown in Europe, even in the largest menageries. The London Cabinet of Natural History possesses only a single claw, which is regarded as a great rarity.[^[13]] Gen. Clark has visited, near the sources of the Missouri and Mississippi, Indian tribes which, previous to his visit, had never seen a white man; but among whom he nevertheless discovered traces of an ancient people more civilized than themselves. Thus, for example, he brought away with him a whip which the riders of these tribes do not understand the mode of using on their horses at the present time. The knots of this are very complex, and actually arranged like the knout of the Cossacks. He presented General Lafayette with a garment bearing a striking resemblance to a Russian riding coat. It is made of buffaloe skin, prepared so as to retain all its pliancy, as if dressed by the most skilful tanner. From these and some other facts, Mr. Clark, and Captain Lewis, his companion, concluded that there formerly existed, near the pole, a communication between Asia and America. These two intrepid travellers published in 1814, an interesting account of the journeys made by them in 1804, 5, and 6, by order of the American government, the object being to explore the sources of the Missouri, and the course of the Columbia river, till it reaches the Pacific ocean.

We could have remained a considerable longer time in Governor Clark’s museum, listening to the interesting accounts which he was pleased to give us relative to his great journeys, but were informed that the hour for dinner had arrived, and we went to the house of Mr. Peter Choteau. On our way we visited a portion of the town which we had not before seen, and were surprised at the whimsical manner in which some of the houses, apparently the most ancient, were constructed. They generally consisted of a single story, surrounded by a gallery covered with a wide projecting roof. Some one pointed out to us, that formerly the basement was not inhabited, and that the stair-way leading to the upper story was moveable at pleasure. This precaution was used by the first inhabitants of St. Louis for the purpose of guarding against the insidious nocturnal attacks of the Indians, who saw with jealousy the whites making permanent settlements among them. When St. Louis, then a feeble village, passed under the Spanish authority, the neighbouring Indians were still so numerous and enterprising, that the inhabitants could scarcely resist them, or even venture abroad. It is related, that, in 1794, an Indian chief entered St. Louis, with a portion of his tribe, and having demanded an interview, spoke as follows: “We come to offer you peace. We have made war against you for a great many moons, and what has been the result? Nothing. Our warriors have used every means to fight with yours, but you will not, and dare not meet us! You are a pack of old women! What can be done with such people, since they will not fight, but make peace? I come therefore to you to bury the hatchet, brighten the chain, and open a new communication with you.”

Since that time the tribes have greatly diminished, and most of them departed. Those still remaining in the vicinity show the most peaceable disposition towards the white inhabitants, with whom they carry on a considerable trade in furs. The inhabitants of St. Louis are, besides, sufficiently numerous no longer to fear such neighbours. The population amounts to nearly six thousand souls, which number will probably be doubled in a few years, for this city has the prospect of a brilliant destiny in these vast regions, in the midst of which civilization, under the guidance of American liberty and industry, must run a giant’s course. St. Louis is already the grand store-house of all the commerce of the countries west of the Mississippi. Its situation near the junction of four or five great rivers, all of whose branches, which spread to the most distant extremities of the Union, furnish an easy and rapid communication with all those places which can contribute to the wants or luxuries of its happy inhabitants. Into what astonishment is the mind thrown on reflecting that such a height of prosperity is the result of but a few years, and that the founder of so flourishing a city still lives, and, for a long time, has been in the enjoyment of the results which he neither could have hoped for, nor anticipated, had it been predicted to his young and ardent imagination on first approaching the solitary shores of the Mississippi. This enterprising man, who, with his axe, felled the first tree of the ancient forest on the place where the city of St. Louis stands, who raised the first house, about which, in so short a time, were grouped the edifices of a rich city; who, by his courage and conciliating spirit, at first repressed the rage of the Indians, and afterwards secured their friendship; this happy man is Mr. Augustus Choteau. I have already named him among those appointed by the inhabitants of St. Louis to do the honours of their city to the guest of the American nation. It was at the house of his son, Mr. Peter Choteau, that we partook of the feast of republican gratitude. It was highly interesting to behold seated at the table the founder of a great city, one of the principal defenders of the independence of a great nation, and the representatives of four young republics, already rich from their industry, powerful from their liberty, and happy from the wisdom of their institutions. As might be readily supposed, the conversation was highly interesting. Mr. Augustus Choteau was asked a great many questions respecting his youthful adventures and enterprises. The companion in arms of Washington was requested to relate some details of the decisive and glorious campaign of Virginia, and the members of the different deputations of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Missouri, drew a pleasing picture of the prosperous advancement of their respective states. In this company, that which touched General Lafayette most was the prevailing unanimity among the guests, who, though they did not all speak one language, agreed perfectly in respect to the excellence of those republican institutions under which it was their happiness to live. Before leaving the banquet in order to attend the ball which the ladies were so kind as to prepare for us, some toasts were exchanged, all of which bore the impression of the harmony existing between the old French and the new American population. Mr. Delassus, formerly lieutenant-governor of Louisiana, drank, “The United States and France! May these two countries produce another Washington and another Lafayette, to emancipate the rest of the world!” Governor Coles drank, “France! dear to our hearts from so many recollections, and above all for having given birth to our Lafayette.” General Lafayette finished by drinking the health of the venerable patriarch, who, in 1763, founded the town of St. Louis, and immediately afterwards we left the table for the ball, where we found the most numerous and brilliant company assembled, as we were informed, that had ever been seen upon the western shore of the Mississippi. The splendid decorations of the room, and the beauty of the ladies who graced it, made us completely forget that we were on the confines of a wilderness which the savages themselves consider as insufficient for the supply of their simple wants, since they only frequent it occasionally. We partook of the pleasures of the evening until near midnight, the hour at which we were to return on board the Natchez, for the purpose of taking some rest before daylight, when we were to depart. At the moment we were about to embark, many citizens of St. Louis had the goodness to offer us several objects of curiosity, such as bows, arrows, calumets, and dresses of the Missouri Indians. We accepted with gratitude these testimonies of benevolence, which we have preserved as agreeable remembrancers of happy occurrences so far from our country.

CHAPTER IX.

Changes produced in the navigation of the Mississippi since the introduction of Steam—Arrival at Kaskaskia—The Canadians and Indians—Singular meeting with a young Indian educated among the Whites, and returned to savage life—Indian Ballad—State of Illinois—Departure from Kaskaskia—Separation of General Lafayette and the Louisiana deputation.

Governor Coles, who had embarked with us, requested of General Lafayette and obtained his consent, that he would not leave the river Mississippi without visiting the state of Illinois, along which we were to pass in descending the river. It was decided that we should stop at Kaskaskia, a large village of that state, and, although nearly eighty miles distant, we arrived there a little while before noon, so fortunate and rapid was our navigation. Since the application of steam to navigation, the changes produced in the relations of the towns on the Mississippi is prodigious. Formerly the voyage from New Orleans to St. Louis required three or four months of the most painful toil that can be imagined; the action of the oar was not always sufficient to overcome the resistance of the current. They were often obliged to warp the boat by hand, advancing from time to time with a small boat to tie a rope to a tree or stone on the shore.[^[14]] This slow and painful operation, the consequent privations and bad diet, caused diseases among the boatmen, which ordinarily destroyed one third of the crew. At present the same passage which is nearly fifteen hundred miles, is made in ten days, without fatigue, without privations, between a good bed and a good table, and often in very good company; the return is commonly made in five days; so that New Orleans and St. Louis, separated by so great a distance, are now considered as neighbouring cities, whose inhabitants are better acquainted and visit each other oftener than those of Paris and Bordeaux can do.

General Lafayette was not expected at Kaskaskia, and nothing had been prepared for this unforeseen visit. While we were landing some one ran to the village, which stands a quarter of a mile from the shore, and quickly returned with a carriage for the general, who, an instant after, was surrounded by many citizens, who ran before to receive him. In the escort which formed itself to accompany him, we saw neither military apparel nor the splendid triumphs we had perceived in the rich cities; but the accents of joy and republican gratitude which broke upon his ear, was grateful to his heart, since it proved to him that wherever American liberty had penetrated, there also the love and veneration of the people for its founders were perpetuated.

We followed the general on foot, and arrived almost at the same time at the house of General Edgar, a venerable soldier of the revolution, who received him with affectionate warmth, and ordered all the doors to be kept open, that his fellow citizens might enjoy, as well as himself, the pleasure of shaking hands with the adopted son of America. After a few minutes had been accorded to the rather tumultuous expression of the sentiments which the presence of the general inspired, Governor Coles requested silence, which was accorded with a readiness and deference that proved to me that his authority rested not only on the law, but still more on popular affection. He advanced towards Lafayette, about whom the crowd had increased, and addressed him with emotion in a discourse in which he depicted the transports his presence excited in the population of the state of Illinois, and the happy influence which the remembrance of his visit would produce hereafter on the youthful witnesses of the enthusiasm of their fathers, for one of the most valiant founders of their liberty.

During an instant of profound silence, I cast a glance at the assembly, in the midst of which I found myself, and was struck with astonishment in remarking their variety and fantastic appearance. Beside men whose dignity of countenance, the patriotic exaltation of expression, readily indicated them to be Americans, were others whose coarse dresses, vivacity, petulance of movement, and the expansive joy of their visages, strongly recalled to me the peasantry of my own country; behind these, near to the door, and on the piazza which surrounded the house, stood some immovable, impassable, large, red, half naked figures, leaning on a bow or a long rifle: these were the Indians of the neighbourhood.

After a pause of some seconds, the governor resumed his address, which he concluded by presenting, with great eloquence, a faithful picture of the benefits which America had derived from its liberty, and the happy influence which republican institutions would one day exercise on the rest of the world. When the orator had finished, a slight murmur of approbation passed through the assembly, and was prolonged until it was perceived that General Lafayette was about to reply, when an attentive silence was restored.

After these reciprocal felicitations, another scene not less interesting commenced. Some old revolutionary soldiers advanced from the crowd, and came to shake hands with their old general; while he conversed with them, and heard them, with softened feelings, cite the names of those of their ancient companions in arms, who also fought at Brandywine and Yorktown, but for whom it was not ordained to enjoy the fruits of their toils, nor to unite their voices with that of their grateful country. The persons whom I had remarked as having some likeness in dress and manners to our French peasants, went and came with vivacity in all parts of the hall, or sometimes formed little groups, from the midst of which could be heard, in the French language, the most open and animated expressions of joy. Having been introduced to one of these groups by a member of the committee of Kaskaskia, I was received at first with great kindness, and was quickly overwhelmed with a volley of questions, as soon as they found I was a Frenchman, and accompanied general Lafayette. “What! are you also come from France? Give us then some news from that fine, that dear country. Are people happy there? Are they free as they are here? Ah! what pleasure to see our good Frenchmen from grand France!” and the questions followed with such rapidity, that I knew not which to understand. I was not long in perceiving that these good men were as ignorant of the things which concerned their mother country, as they were enthusiastic. They are acquainted with France only by tradition from the reign of Louis XIV. and they have no idea of the convulsions which, during the last forty years, have torn the country of their fathers. “Have you not had,” said one of them to me, who had just asked me many questions about General Lafayette, which would not have been asked by an American child ten years of age, “have you not had another famous general, called Napoleon, who has made many glorious wars?” I think if Napoleon had heard such a question asked, his vanity would have been somewhat shocked by it. He, who believed he filled the universe with his name, because he had overturned some old thrones of Europe, and destroyed the liberty of France, was yet hardly known on the banks of the Mississippi; not more than two thousand leagues from the theatre of his glory, his name is pronounced with an expression of doubt! Indeed, there is in this something to damp the most ardent passion for celebrity: I did my best to reply to the question of my Canadian, to make him comprehend, as well as those who surrounded him, who was this famous General Napoleon. At the recital of his exploits, they at first clapped their hands, and assumed an air of superiority, in saying, “These are our brave Frenchmen. It is only among them that men like these are to be found!” But when I came to tell them how this famous general caused himself to be made consul; how he made himself emperor; how he had successively destroyed our liberty, and paralyzed the exercise of our rights; how, finally, he had himself fallen, leaving us, after twenty years of war, nearly at the same point whence we had started at the commencement of our revolution, they all became sad as if about to weep, and exclaimed: “And you have suffered all that! How, in beautiful France, and grand France, are they not free as in the state of Illinois? Good heavens! is it possible? What, can you not write whatever you please? Cannot you go every where without passports? Is it not you who nominate the mayors of your towns and villages? Is it not you who choose your governors, or your prefects of departments or provinces? Have you not the right to elect your representatives to the national assembly? Are none of you called to the election of the chief of the government, although you pay the whole of such heavy taxes? Alas! our good Frenchmen of grand France are then more to be pitied than the negro slaves of Louisiana, who are, indeed, miserable enough! for if these exercise none of the rights which we all exercise here, they at least pay no money, and have masters that support them.” During these exclamations, I did not know what to say. The colour mounted to my cheeks, and I confess that my national vanity suffered singularly to hear ignorant Canadians express sentiments of pity for my countrymen, and draw a parallel to their disadvantage between them and miserable slaves; but these sentiments were too well founded to admit of my complaining, and I was silent. I only made a promise to myself to be more discreet for the future, and not to speak with so much freedom of the political situation of my country before freemen.

While I was occupied with the Canadians, the crowd, influenced by a feeling of delicacy and kind attention, insensibly withdrew, to leave General Lafayette time to take a few moments’ repose while waiting for the banquet which the citizens had hastily prepared. Wishing to profit by the short time we had to remain at Kaskaskia, Mr. George Lafayette and myself went out to view the environs of the village, in company with some of the inhabitants, and left the general with our other travelling companions and some old revolutionary soldiers, at Colonel Edgar’s. At the public square we found nearly all the citizens walking about, and joyously conversing upon the event of the day. We found in their groups the same variety of physiognomy that had struck me in the hall. While Mr. George gathered from an American, the details of the origin and present situation of Kaskaskia, I approached a small circle of Indians, in the centre of which was a man of high stature and singular aspect. His face, without being coppery like that of the Indians, was still very swarthy. His short dress, his long belt, to which hung a powder-horn, his long leather leggings, extending above his knees, and all his equipage, announced a hunter of the forest. He was leaning on a long rifle, and appeared to inspire by his discourse a lively interest in his hearers. When he observed me, he came to me without forwardness, but with marked kindness. He extended his hand, and I gave him mine, which he shook cordially. I had a moment’s hesitation in addressing him, not knowing whether he understood English or French; but he spoke to me first in French, and I soon found myself quite at ease with him. He informed me that he was of mixed blood, that his mother was of the Kickapoos tribe, and that his father was a Canadian. He lives among the Indians of the neighbourhood, who have a great friendship and respect for him, because, notwithstanding fifty years and fatigue have begun to whiten his head, he yet equals them in hunting and all the exercises of the body, and because he often serves them as a mediator between them and the whites, whose language he perfectly understands, although his common language is Indian. Those who surrounded him were not all similarly clothed, nor similarly painted. It was easy to distinguish some differences in their features and manners. I concluded that they were not all of the same tribe. The hunter confirmed me in this opinion by telling me that at this moment, there were about Kaskaskia three or four camps of Indians, come to sell the furs obtained by their great hunting during the winter. He named the different tribes who occupied the camps; but their names were so barbarous, or so badly pronounced, that I could not comprehend them; I understood distinctly only that of Miami, which, repeated three or four times, roused from his apathy a little man, who until then stood motionless before me, wrapped in a blanket; his face, bloated by intemperance, was painted red, blue, and yellow. At the name of Miami, he raised his head, assumed an air of ridiculous dignity, and said, “I should be the chief of the Miami nation. My grandfather was chief, my father was chief; but the Miami have unjustly decided that I should not succeed my father, and now, instead of having a great quantity of furs to sell, I have none; I shall quit Kaskaskia without being able to buy arms, powder, or tobacco.” While he thus spoke, a man painted in the same way, but of a very lofty stature and athletic form, regarded him with a disdainful air, and said, after tapping him on the shoulder, “Dare you to complain of the justice of the Miami? Thy grandfather was our chief, sayest thou? thy father was also? But hast thou then forgotten that thy grandfather was the bravest of our warriors, and that the wisdom of thy father was heard in our councils as the voice of the Great Spirit? But, by what title wouldst thou command among men? Feeble as an old woman, thou hast not even the courage to hunt to satisfy thy wants, and thou wouldst sell us to the whites for a bottle of whiskey.” A contemptuous gesture terminated this rude apostrophe, which was translated into French for me at the time by the stout hunter; and the fallen prince, sadly leaning on a small bow, similar to those with which the Indian boys exercise, kept silence. His fate seemed to me truly deserving of pity; I could not, however, avoid feeling a sentiment of esteem for the Miami nation, who do not believe that legitimacy in a prince can supply the place of all the virtues.

I was still among the Indians, questioning the hunter as to the situation and force of their tribes, which civilization is rapidly diminishing, when I saw the secretary of the governor of Louisiana, Mr. Caire, approach, who came to propose that I should go with him to visit an Indian encampment, at a very short distance from the village. I consented, and we set off immediately, in order to return by the dinner hour. Leaving Kaskaskia, we crossed a river of the same name, on a wooden bridge solidly built and firmly connected. We then marched about twenty minutes on the plain, to the entrance of a forest, which we penetrated by a straight path traced along a rivulet. As we advanced, the ground suddenly elevated itself to the right and left, and we quickly found ourselves in a kind of pass, formed by a succession of small hills, covered with thickets. After about a quarter of an hour’s walk, we arrived at a fence, which we climbed, and behind which two horses attracted our attention by the noise of the bells hung round their necks. A little further on, the pass enlarging, formed a delightful little valley, in the middle of which some huts of bark were raised in a half circle; this was the Indian camp we sought. The openings of these huts were all towards the centre of the circle, and the planks elevated about three feet from the ground, were slightly inclined, like the cover of a field bed. With the exception of a very old woman cooking at a fire in the open air, we found no person in the camp. Either from spite, or because she neither comprehended French nor English, this woman would reply to none of our questions, and saw us with the greatest indifference, look at, and even handle, all the objects which attracted our curiosity in the huts. All was arranged with sufficient order, and it was easy to recognize the places occupied by the women, by the little utensils of the toilet, such as looking-glasses, pins, bags of paint, &c. which we remarked there. After a minute examination of this little camp, we were about to leave it, when I was arrested on the border of the streamlet which ran through it, by the sight of a small mill-wheel, which appeared to have been thrown on the bank by the rapidity of the current. I took it up and placed it where I thought it had originally been put by the children, on two stones elevated a little above the water; and the current striking the wings, made it turn rapidly. This puerility, (which probably would have passed from my memory, if, on the same evening, it had not placed me before the Indians, in a situation sufficiently extraordinary,) greatly excited the attention of the old woman, who, by her gestures, expressed to us a lively satisfaction.

On returning to Kaskaskia, we found Mr. de Syon, an amiable young Frenchman of much intelligence, who, on the invitation of General Lafayette, left Washington city with us to visit the southern and western states. Like us he had just made an excursion into the neighbourhood, and appeared quite joyous at the discovery he had made; he had met, in the midst of the forest, at the head of a troop of Indians, a pretty young woman, who spoke French very well, and expressed herself with a grace at which he appeared as much astonished as we were. She had asked him if it was true, that Lafayette was at Kaskaskia, and on his replying affirmatively, she manifested a great desire to see him. “I always carry with me,” said she to Mr. de Syon, “a relique, that is very dear to me; I would wish to show it to him; it will prove to him that his name is not less venerated in the midst of our tribes, than among the white Americans, for whom he fought.” And in speaking thus, she drew from her bosom a little pouch which enclosed a letter carefully wrapped in several pieces of paper. “It is from Lafayette,” said she, “he wrote it to my father a long time since, and my father, when he died, left it to me as the most precious thing he possessed.” At the sight of this letter, Mr. de Syon proposed to the Indian girl to go with him to Kaskaskia, assuring her that General Lafayette would be very much pleased to see her; but this proposition seemed to embarrass her, and under various pretexts, she refused to come. “However,” she added, “if you have any thing to say to me this evening, you will find me in my camp, which is close by the village; any one can direct you the way, for I am well known at Kaskaskia. My name is Mary.”

This recital of Mr. de Syon excited my curiosity keenly, and I would have willingly returned with him immediately to search for Mary; but, at this moment, a member of the committee of Kaskaskia came to inform me that they were about to sit down to dinner, and we saw General Lafayette going out of Colonel Edgar’s, escorted by many citizens and crossing to Colonel Sweet’s house where we were to dine. We joined the procession and took our places at table, where the general was seated under a canopy of flowers prepared by the ladies of Kaskaskia, with much skill and taste; and which produced, by the blending of the richest and most lively colours, the effect of a rainbow.

I spoke to General Lafayette of the meeting with the young Indian girl; and from the desire he manifested to see her, I left the table with Mr. de Syon, at the moment when the company began to exchange patriotic toasts, and we sought a guide to Mary’s camp. Chance assisted us wonderfully, in directing us to an Indian of the same tribe that we wished to visit. Conducted by him, we crossed the bridge of Kaskaskia, and notwithstanding the darkness, soon recognized the path and rivulet I had seen in the morning with Mr. Caire. When we were about to enter the enclosure, we were arrested by the fierce barking of two stout dogs which sprang at, and would probably have bitten us, but for the timely interference of our guide. We arrived at the middle of the camp, which was lighted by a large fire, around which a dozen Indians were squatted, preparing their supper; they received us with cordiality, and, as soon as they were informed of the object of our visit, one of them conducted us to Mary’s hut, whom we found sleeping on a bison skin. At the voice of Mr. de Syon, which she recognized, she arose, and listened attentively to the invitation from General Lafayette to come to Kaskaskia; she seemed quite flattered by it, but said before deciding to accompany us she wished to mention it to her husband. While she was consulting with him, I heard a piercing cry; and turning round I saw near me the old woman I had found alone in the camp in the morning: she had just recognized me by the light of the fire, and designated me to her companions, who, quitting immediately their occupations, rushed round me in a circle, and began to dance with demonstrations of great joy and gratitude. Their tawny and nearly naked bodies, their faces fantastically painted, their expressive gesticulations, the reflection of the fire, which gave a red tinge to all the surrounding objects, every thing gave to this scene something of an infernal aspect, and I fancied myself for an instant in the midst of demons. Mary, witnessing my embarrassment, put an end to it, by ordering the dance to cease, and then explained to me the honours which they had just rendered me. “When we wish to know if an enterprize we meditate will be happy, we place in a rivulet a small wheel slightly supported on two stones; if the wheel turns during three suns, without being thrown down, the augury is favourable: but if the current carry it away, and throws it upon the bank, it is a certain proof that our project is not approved by the Great Spirit, unless however a stranger comes to replace the little wheel before the end of the third day. You are this stranger who have restored our manitou and our hopes, and this is your title to be thus celebrated among us.” In pronouncing these last words, an ironical smile played on her lips, which caused me to doubt her faith in the manitou. “You do not appear to be very much convinced,” said I to her, “of the efficacy of the service which I have rendered you in raising the manitou?” She silently shook her head; then raising her eyes, “I have been taught,” said she, “to place my confidence higher;—all my hopes are in the God I have been taught to believe in; the God of the Christians.”

I had at first been much astonished to hear an Indian woman speak French so well, and I was not less so in learning that she was a Christian; Mary perceived it, and to put an end to my surprise, she related to me her history, while her husband, and those who were to accompany her to Kaskaskia, hastily took their supper, of maize cooked in milk. She informed me that her father, who was a chief of one of the nations who inhabited the shores of the great lakes of the north, had formerly fought with a hundred of his followers under the orders of Lafayette, when the latter commanded an army on the frontiers. That he had acquired much glory, and gained the friendship of the Americans. A long time after, that is, about twenty years ago, he left the shores of the great lakes with some of his warriors, his wife and daughter; and after having marched a long time, he established himself on the shores of the river Illinois. “I was very young, then, but have not yet, however, forgotten the horrible sufferings we endured during this long journey, made in a rigorous winter, across a country peopled by nations with whom we were unacquainted; they were such, that my poor mother, who nearly always carried me on her shoulders, already well loaded with baggage, died under them some days after our arrival; my father placed me under the care of another woman, who also emigrated with us, and occupied himself in securing the tranquil possession of the lands on which we had come to establish ourselves, by forming alliances with our new neighbours. The Kickapoos were those who received us best, and we soon considered ourselves as forming a part of their nation. The year following my father was chosen by them, with some from among themselves, to go and regulate some affairs of the nation with the agent of the United States, residing here at Kaskaskia; he wished that I should be of the company; for, although the Kickapoos had shown themselves very generous and hospitable towards him, he feared that some war might break out in his absence, as he well knew the intrigues of the English to excite the Indians against the Americans. This same apprehension induced him to accede to the request made by the American agent, to leave me in his family, to be educated with his infant daughter. My father had much esteem for the whites of that great nation for whom he had formerly fought; he never had cause to complain of them, and he who offered to take charge of me inspired him with great confidence by the frankness of his manners, and above all, by the fidelity with which he treated the affairs of the Indians; he, therefore, left me, promising to return to see me every year after the great winter’s hunt; he came, in fact, several times afterwards; and I, notwithstanding the disagreeableness of a sedentary life, grew up, answering the expectations of my careful benefactor and his wife. I became attached to their daughter, who grew up with me, and the truths of the Christian religion easily supplanted in my mind the superstition of my fathers, whom I had scarcely known; yet, I confess to you, notwithstanding the influence of religion and civilization on my youthful heart, the impressions of infancy were not entirely effaced. If the pleasure of wandering conducted me into the shady forest, I breathed more freely, and it was with reluctance that I returned home; when, in the cool of the evening, seated in the door of my adopted father’s habitation, I heard in the distance, through the silence of the night, the piercing voice of the Indians, rallying to return to camp, I started with a thrill of joy, and my feeble voice imitated the voice of the savage with a facility that affrighted my young companion; and when occasionally some warriors came to consult my benefactor in regard to their treaties, or hunters to offer him a part of the produce of their chase, I was always the first to run to meet and welcome them; I testified my joy to them by every imaginable means, and I could not avoid admiring and wishing for their simple ornaments, which appeared to me far preferable to the brilliant decorations of the whites.

“In the meanwhile, for five years my father had not appeared at the period of the return from the winter’s hunting; but a warrior, whom I had often seen with him, came and found me one evening at the entrance of the forest, and said to me: ‘Mary, thy father is old and feeble, he has been unable to follow us here; but he wishes to see thee once more before he dies, and he has charged me to conduct thee to him.’ In saying these words he forcibly took my hand, and dragged me with him. I had not even time to reply to him, nor even to take any resolution, before we were at a great distance, and I saw well that there was no part left for me, but to follow him. We marched nearly all night, and at the dawn of day, we arrived at a bark hut, built in the middle of a little valley. Here I saw my father, his eyes turned towards the just rising sun. His face was painted as for battle. His tomahawk ornamented with many scalps, was beside him; he was calm and silent as an Indian who awaited death. As soon as he saw me he drew out of a pouch a paper wrapped with care in a very dry skin, and gave it me, requesting that I should preserve it as a most precious thing. ‘I wished to see thee once more before dying,’ said he, ‘and to give thee this paper, which is the most powerful charm (manitou) which thou canst employ with the whites to interest them in thy favour; for all those to whom I have shown it have manifested towards me a particular attachment. I received it from a great French warrior, whom the English dreaded as much as the Americans loved, and with whom I fought in my youth.’ After these words my father was silent, next morning he expired. Sciakape, the name of the warrior who came for me, covered the body of my father with the branches of trees, and took me back to my guardian.”

Here Mary suspended her narrative, and presented to me a letter a little darkened by time, but in good preservation. “Stay,” said she to me, smiling, “you see that I have faithfully complied with the charge of my father; I have taken great care of his manitou.” I opened the letter and recognized the signature and handwriting of General Lafayette. It was dated at head quarters, Albany, June, 1778, after the northern campaign, and addressed to Panisciowa, an Indian chief of one of the Six Nations, to thank him for the courageous manner in which he had served the American cause.

“Well,” said Mary, “now that you know me well enough to introduce me to General Lafayette, shall we go to him that I may also greet him whom my father revered as the courageous warrior and the friend of our nations?” “Willingly,” I replied, “but it seems to me that you have promised to inform us in what manner, after having tasted for some time the sweets of civilization, you came to return to the rude and savage life of the Indians?” At this question, Mary looked downwards and seemed troubled. However, after a slight hesitation, she resumed in a lower tone: “After the death of my father, Sciakape often returned to see me. We soon became attached to each other; he did not find it difficult to determine me to follow him into the forest, where I became his wife. This resolution at first very much afflicted my benefactors; but when they saw that I found myself happy, they pardoned me; and each year, during all the time that our encampment is established near Kaskaskia, I rarely pass a day without going to see them; if you wish, we can visit them, for their house is close by our way, and you will see by the reception they will give me, that they retain their esteem and friendship.” Mary pronounced these last words with a degree of pride, which proved to us that she feared that we might have formed a bad opinion of her, on account of her flight from the home of her benefactors with Sciakape. We accepted her proposition, and she gave the signal for departure. At her call, her husband and eight warriors presented themselves to escort us. M. de Syon offered her his arm, and we began our march. We were all very well received by the family of Mr. Mesnard; but Mary above all received the most tender marks of affection from the persons of the household. Mr. Mesnard, Mary’s adopted father, was at Kaskaskia, as one of the committee charged with the reception of Lafayette, and Mrs. Mesnard asked us if we would undertake to conduct her daughter to the ball which she herself was prevented from attending by indisposition. We assented with pleasure; and, while Mary assisted Miss Mesnard to complete her toilet, we seated ourselves round a great fire in the kitchen. Scarcely were we seated, when I saw moving in the corner, a black mass, of which I had at first a difficulty in recognising the nature and form; but, after an attentive examination, I found it was an old negro doubled by age. His face was so much wrinkled and deformed by time, that it was impossible to distinguish in it a single feature, and I guessed the place of his mouth by the little cloud of tobacco-smoke which escaped thence, from time to time. This man appeared to give great attention to the conversation which took place between us and a young man of Mr. Mesnard’s family; when he understood that we travelled with General Lafayette, and that we came from St. Louis, he asked if we had found many Frenchmen there. I replied that we had seen some, and, among others, Mr. Choteau, the founder of the town. “What!” cried he with a loud voice, which seemed not to belong to so decrepid a body—“What! you found the little Choteau? Oh! I know him well, so I do, that little Choteau; we have travelled a great deal together on the Mississippi, and that at a time when very few of the whites had come this far.” “But do you know,” said I, “that he whom you call the little Choteau is very old, that he is certainly more than ninety years of age?” “Oh! I believe that well! but what of that? that does not prevent that I should know him well, when a child.” “Of what age are you, then?” “Of that I know nothing, as they never taught me to count. All that I know is, that I left New Orleans with my master, who made part of the expedition sent by the Navigation Company of the Mississippi, under the orders of the young Choteau, to go and build a fort high up the river. Young Choteau was hardly seventeen, but he was commander of the expedition, because his father was, they said, one of the richest proprietors of the company. After having rowed a long time against the current and suffered great fatigue, we arrived at last not far from here, where we set about building Fort Chartres. It seems as if I was now there; I see from here the great stones which bore the great arches we built. Every one of us said, ‘Here is a fort will last longer than us all, and longer than our children.’ I also believed it well, and yet I have seen the last of it; for it is now in ruins, and I am yet living. Do you know, sir, how many years it is since we built Fort Chartres?” “At least eighty years, if I am not deceived.” “Well, count, and you will know very nearly my age. I was then at least thirty years old, for the little Choteau appeared to me a child; I have already served three masters, and I have suffered a great deal.” “According to that account, you are a hundred and ten years old, Daddy Francis.” “Yes, indeed, I believe I am at the least that, for it is a long time that I have laboured and suffered.” “How!” said the young man who was seated near him, “do you suffer now, Francis?” “Oh! pardon me, sir, I speak not of the time I have lived in this house. Since I belonged to Mr. Mesnard it is very different; I am now happy. Instead of serving others, they all serve me. Mr. Mesnard will not even allow me to go and bring in a little wood for the fire; he says I am too old for that. But I must tell the truth, Mr. Mesnard is not a master to me; he is a man—he is a friend.”

This homage of the old slave, rendered to the humanity of his master, gave us a high idea of the character of Mr. Mesnard. While we were yet listening to old Francis, Mary and Miss Mesnard came to inform us that they were ready, and asked us if we would be on our way, as it began to grow late. We took leave of Mrs. Mesnard, and found our Indian escort who had waited patiently for us at the door, and who resumed their position near us at some distance in front, to guide and protect our march, as if we had been crossing an enemy’s country. The night was quite dark, but the temperature was mild, and the fire-flies illuminated the atmosphere around us. M. de Syon conducted Miss Mesnard, and I gave my arm to Mary, who, notwithstanding the darkness, walked with a confidence and lightness which only a forest life could produce. The fire-flies attracted and interested me much; for, although this was not the first time I had observed them, I had never before seen them in such numbers. I asked Mary if these insects, which from their appearance seem so likely to astonish the imagination, had never given place among the Indians to popular beliefs or tales. “Not among the nations of these countries, where every year we are familiarised with their great numbers,” said she to me, “but I have heard that among the tribes of the north, they commonly believe that they are the souls of departed friends, who return to console them or demand the performance of some promise. I even know several ballads on this subject. One of them appears to have been made a long time since, in a nation which lives farther north and no longer exists. It is by songs that great events and popular traditions are ordinarily preserved among us, and this ballad, which I have often heard sung by the young girls of our tribe, leaves no doubt as to the belief of some Indians concerning the fire-fly.” I asked her to sing me this song, which she did with much grace. Although I did not comprehend the words, which were Indian, I observed a great harmony in their arrangement, and, in the very simple music in which they were sung, an expression of deep melancholy.

When she had finished the ballad, I asked her if she could not translate it for me into French, so that I might comprehend the sense. “With difficulty,” she said, “for I have always found great obstacles to translating exactly the expressions of our Indians into French, when I have served them as interpreter with the whites; but I will try.” And she translated nearly as follows:

“The rude season of the chase was over. Antakaya, the handsomest, the most skilful, and bravest of the Cherokee warriors, came to the banks of the Avolachy, where he was expected by Manahella, the young virgin promised to his love and bravery.

“The first day of the moon of flowers was to witness their union. Already had the two families, assembled round the same fire, given their assent; already had the young men and women prepared and ornamented the new cabin, which was to receive the happy couple, when, at the rising of the sun, a terrible cry, the cry of war, sent forth by the scout who always watches at the summit of the hill, called the old men to the council, and the warriors to arms.

“The whites appeared on the frontier. Murder and robbery accompanied them. The star of fertility had not reached its noontide height, and already Antakaya had departed at the head of his warriors to repel robbery, murder, and the whites.

“Go, said Manahella to him, endeavouring to stifle her grief, go fight the cruel whites, and I will pray to the Great Spirit to wrap thee with a cloud, proof against their blows. I will pray him to bring thee back to the banks of the Avolachy, there to be loved by Manahella.