Travels Through North America, During the Years 1825 and 1826. v. 1-2

On the 6th of January, the boat was under way before daybreak; she stopt at Cahawba till ten o’clock, to take in wood. This place has its name from a small river, which here flows into the Alabama. It lies upon the right hand bank of the river, here rather high. It was founded about five years ago, and it is already the capital of the state. With all this advantage, it contains only three hundred inhabitants of all sorts, and it is to be feared that its population will not increase, as the present legislature of Alabama, has resolved to change the seat of government to Tuscaloosa.

A fatiguing and bad road goes from the landing to this village. It has two very broad streets, which cut each other at right angles. Only four or five houses are of brick, the others all built of wood; they stand at a distance from one another. In the streets were erected two very plain triumphal arches, in honour of General La Fayette. I was made acquainted with Colonel Pickens, friend of Colonel Wool. He had formerly served in the army, was afterwards governor of South Carolina, and now a planter in Alabama. He carried us to the state-house, where the legislature was in session.37 He introduced me to Governor Murphy, in whose office we passed half an hour, in conversing very pleasantly. The governor gave me several details concerning the state. The greater part of it had been bought from the Indians, and settled within ten years. It was first received by congress as a state of the union in the year 1819. All establishments within it, are of course very new. The staple productions are Indian corn and cotton, which are shipped to Mobile, the sea port of the state, and sold there. The bales of cotton average about forty dollars. About forty miles hence, at the confluence of the Black Warrior and the Tombigbee rivers, lies the town of Demopolis, formerly called Eagleville. It was located by the French, who had come back from the much promising Champ d’Asyle. This place attracted my curiosity in a lively degree, and I would willingly have visited it. The governor and the secretary of state, however, advised me strongly against this, as there was nothing at all there worthy of observation. They related to me what follows:

Alabama, as a territory, was under the especial superintendence of congress. At that period a number of French arrived from the perishing Champ d’Asyle to the United States. At the head of them were the Generals Lefebvre-Desnouettes, Lallemand and Rigaud; congress allowed these Frenchmen a large tract of land upon a very long credit, almost for nothing, under the promise that they would endeavour to plant the vine and olive tree. Both attempts miscarried, either through the neglect of the French, or that the land was too rich for the vine and the olive. Some of these Frenchmen devoted themselves to the more profitable cultivation of cotton; the most of them, however, disposed of the land allotted to them very advantageously, spread themselves through the United States, and sought a livelihood in a variety of ways. Some were dancing and fencing masters, some fancy shopkeepers, and others in Mobile and New Orleans, even croupiers at the hazard tables, that are there licensed. General Rigaud betook himself at the time of the Spanish revolution to Spain, there to contend against France, and may now be living in England; General Lefebvre-Desnouettes, also went back to Europe, as it was said to obtain the money collected in France for the colony, and to bring out settlers; he lost his life some years ago in the shipwreck of the Albion packet, on the Irish coast. General Lallemand resorted to New York, where he is doing well. The Frenchmen, with some of whom I afterwards conversed in New Orleans, insisted that they had received none of the money collected for them. Eagleville, since called Demopolis, has only one store, and a few log houses. It lies in a very level country, and at the most only five Frenchmen, whose names I could not obtain, are living there now, the remaining inhabitants are Americans.

After we had looked about the two streets of Cahawba, we embarked and pursued our voyage. At our going on board, we remarked that Cahawba was a depôt for cotton, which, partly in steam-boats, and partly in vessels made of light wood, are transported down the river. These vessels have a flat bottom, and are built in the form of a parallelogram. The part under the water is pitched, and on the fore and back narrower ends, are rudder oars, with which the boats are steered. The vessels are finished in a very rough way; they are broken up in Mobile, and the timber sold. They are known by the general title of flat boats.

Some miles below Cahawba we stopped on the right bank, near the plantation of Mr. Rutherford. There were still fifteen bales of cotton to be taken in. While this was doing, we went on shore to take a walk, where the bank was tolerably high. Mr. Rutherford’s plantation has been about six years in cultivation. The mansion-house is of wood, and built as other log houses, but it is handsomely situated among live oaks and pride of China trees. The entrance is shaded by a rose-tree. Around were handsome, high and uncommonly thick sycamores, whose trunks appeared white, elms, gum trees, and the above named (live oaks and Chinas) many from a single trunk, also cane, that was at least twenty feet high. The situation of the plantation was unhealthy, and Mr. R. a Georgian by birth, told us that he carried his family for the sake of health to the north every summer. We saw here several hundred paroquets flying round, who kept up a great screaming. Many were shot. They are parrots, but of a larger species than the common kind, clear green with yellow tips to their wings, and orange-coloured heads, flesh-coloured bills, and long green tails. We had before seen on the bank several astonishingly numerous flocks of black birds. The banks of the river are here and there one hundred feet high, they are composed of steep sandstone rock, from which springs flow.

By the accession of the new load of cotton bales, our vessel became too heavily laden. She acquired a balancing motion, like a ship at sea. This was exceedingly embarrassing in the numerous bends of the river, and to avoid the danger of falling back, it was necessary to stop the machinery at every turn. The fine dry weather which pleased us so much, was the cause of the great fall in the water of the river. The change from high to low water was very rapid. In the spring, as I was assured, the river rose sixty feet and more, and inundated the high land near it. I could not doubt the fact; for I saw upon the rocky banks the traces of the high water. About dark we laid by on the right shore to take in wood. We remained here for the night, and I had in a wretched lair an equally wretched repose.38

On the 7th of January, at six in the morning, our vessel was once more in motion; soon, however, she stuck fast upon the sand. It required much trouble to bring her off, and turn her round; the task occupied an hour and a half. It was shortly before daybreak, and we were all in bed, if such miserable cribs deserved the name. It had various effects upon our travelling companions. Mr. Huygens rose in consternation from his bed, and made a great disturbance. Mr. Bowdoin called to his servant, and directed him to inquire what had happened. He was very uneasy when we told him that we might lie several days, perhaps weeks here, to wait for rain, and the consequent rise of the river. The colonel and I, who had acquired by our long experience, a tolerable portion of recklessness, remained in our cots, and left the matter to Providence, as we perceived that the captain would rather disembark his cotton, which consumed nothing, than to support much longer a number of passengers, all with good appetites, who had agreed for their voyage at a certain price. When we were again afloat, Mr. Bowdoin remarked with a face of great wisdom, that he had foreseen that we should not long remain aground, as he had not felt the stroke of the boat on the sand-bar.

We passed the whole day without any further accident, the weather was rather dull and drizzling. Nothing interesting occurred to our observation. We passed by two steam-boats that had been sunk in the river, of which the last, called the Cotton Plant, went down only a month since. Both struck against trees in the river, and sank so slowly, that all the passengers, and part of the cargo were saved. They were so deep that only the wheel-houses raised themselves above the water. From these boats already a part of the machinery has been taken out piece-meal.

In the afternoon we passed a little place called Claiborne, situated on an eminence on the left bank of the river. Three miles below, we stopped about sunset, on the right bank for wood. The name of the place is Wiggins’s Landing. It consists of two log-houses standing upon a height, among old tall thin oak trees, which was settled by a Mr. Wiggins, with his wife and children, a short time before. The houses had a very picturesque appearance, and I was sorry that I could not take a sketch of them. Mr. W. proposed to cut down the wood for the purpose of raising cotton there. It was a pity to do so with this handsome grove, handsome, although injured in its appearance by the Spanish moss which hangs from the trees. Monsieur Chateaubriand compares the trees enveloped in this moss to apparitions; in the opinion of Brackenridge, they resemble ships under full sail, with which the air plays in a calm at sea. I, who never beheld ghosts, nor possessed Mons. Chateaubriand’s powers of imagination, though I had seen sails tossing in the wind, compared these trees in my prosaic mood, to tenter-hooks, on which beggars dry their ragged apparel before some great holy-day.

We were in hopes, that we should have made more progress during the night, but the captain had become so prudent, and almost anxious, from the sight of the two sunken steam-boats, that he determined to spend the night at Wiggins’s Landing. Formerly, near Claiborne, there was a stockade, called Fort Claiborne, where an affair took place with the Indians in the last war. This place is named in honour of the deceased Mr. Claiborne, governor of the former Mississippi Territory, of which the present state of Alabama formed a part, who died about eight years ago, governor of the state of Louisiana, in New Orleans. He had taken possession of Louisiana, in the name of the United States, which the then existing French Government had sold to them. Mr. Claiborne was a particular favourite and countryman of President Jefferson. He had by his voice decided the presidential election in favour of Jefferson, against his antagonist, Aaron Burr, for which Jefferson was gratefully mindful during his whole life.

On the 8th of January, we left our anchoring ground between six and seven o’clock. The shores, which at first were pretty high, became by degrees lower, they remained, however, woody, mostly of oak wood in appearance, hung with long moss. Under the trees, grew very thick, and uncommonly handsome cane, above twenty feet high. At the rise of the river, these shores, often covered with water, are on this account little inhabited. Taking it for granted that the population of Alabama increases in numbers, and the higher land becomes healthier from extirpation of the forest, without doubt dykes will be made on these lower banks, to guard the land from inundation, and make it susceptible of culture. Here and there rose sand banks out of the water, and also several snags. We passed the place where the year before, a steam-boat, the Henry Clay, was sunk; since which time, however, she has been set afloat again. It is not very consolatory to the traveller, to behold places and remains of such occurrences, particularly when they find themselves on board such a miserable vessel as ours. Several steam-boats, which at present navigate the Alabama, formerly ran on the Mississippi, as this one did; they were judged too bad for that river, and were, therefore, brought into this trade, by which their possessors realized much money. We saw to-day many wild ducks and geese, on the shores also, numbers of paroquets, which make a great noise; in the river there were alligators, which are smaller than the Egyptian crocodile. One of these creatures was lying on the shore of the bank, and was sunning itself, yet too far from us, and our boat went too fast, to permit of my seeing it distinctly, or of shooting at it. In the afternoon we saw several small rivers, which flowed into the Alabama, or ran out of it, forming stagnant arms, which are here called bayous. The river itself takes extraordinary turns, and shapes out a variety of islands. We afterwards reached the confluence of the rivers Alabama and Tombigbee, where there is an island, and the country appears extremely well. Both rivers united, take the name of Mobile river.

About three miles below this junction, several wooden houses formed a group on the right bank. Formerly, there was a stockade here, Fort Stoddart, from which this collection of houses has its name. Here is the line which forms the thirty-first degree of latitude, once the boundary between the United States and the Spanish possessions. The Mobile river still increased in breadth, and as the night commenced, seemed about half a mile wide. The weather was very dark and cloudy, the pilot could not distinguish his course, and although we approached close to the city, we could proceed no farther, without exposing ourselves to danger.

Early on the 9th of January it was extremely foggy. On this account a boat was sent out to reconnoitre. The fog after some time cleared away a little, and we found ourselves so near the wharves that we immediately touched one of the piers, and landed about half past eight. We had travelled four hundred and fifty miles from Montgomery. The journey by land amounts only to two hundred and fifty-eight miles, and yet is seldom performed, on account of the want of good roads and accommodation. Being arrived at Mobile and extremely glad at having left our wretched steam-boat, in which we had enjoyed no comfort, we took up our residence in Smooth’s Hotel, a wooden building, the bar-room of which is at the same time the post-office, and therefore somewhat lively.

Mobile, an ancient Spanish town, yet still earlier occupied by the French, was ceded with Louisiana, in 1803, to the United States. The few respectable creole families, who had formerly dwelt here, left the place at the cession, and withdrew to the island of Cuba, and none but those of the lower classes remained behind. A new population was formed of the North Americans, who came here to make money. From this cause, the French as well as the Spanish language remains only among the lower classes; the better society is thoroughly American. Mobile contains five thousand inhabitants, of both complexions, of which about one thousand may be blacks. The town lies on the right bank of the Florida river, where it is divided into several arms, and has formed Mobile bay, which, thirty miles below, joins the Mexican gulf. It is regularly built, the streets are at right angles, part of them parallel with the river, the rest perpendicular to it. Along the shore is a wooden quay, and wooden piers or landing bridges project into the water, for the convenience of vessels. There are lying here about thirty ships, of which several are of four hundred tons, to be loaded with cotton. The most of them are from New York. When the ebb tide draws off the water, a quantity of filth remains uncovered on the shore, and poisons the atmosphere. This circumstance may contribute its agency to the unhealthiness of the place in summer. The shore opposite the harbour is marshy and full of cane. The town lies upon a poor sandy soil; the streets are not paved, and unpleasant from the depth of the sand. On both sides of the streets there are paths made of strong plank, which divide the walk from the cartway of the street, which will be converted into pavements when brick or stone shall have become cheaper.

The generality of the houses are of wood, covered with shingles, and have piazzas. Some new houses only, are built of brick. This article must be imported, and is not to be procured in large quantities of any quality. As an example of this, I saw a house finished, of which the two first stories were of red brick, and the third of yellow. There are also here some Spanish houses which consist of timber frames, of which the open spaces are filled up with beaten clay, like those of the German peasantry. Besides several private houses, most of the public buildings are of brick. These are, a theatre, which, besides the pit, has a row of boxes and a gallery, the bank, the court of the United States, the county court-house, the building of which was in progress, and the prison. Near this prison stood the public whipping post for negroes. It was constructed like a sash frame. The lower board on which the feet of the unfortunate being were to stand, could be pushed up or down, to accommodate the height of the individual. Upon it is a block, through which the legs are passed. The neck and arms are passed through another.

The Catholic church here is in a very miserable situation. I went into it, just at the time the church seats were publicly rented for the year to the highest bidders; two in my presence were disposed of for nineteen dollars a piece. The church within resembles a barn, it had a high altar with vessels of tin, and a picture of no value, also two little side altars.

A large cotton warehouse, of all the buildings in Mobile, most excited my attention. This consists of a square yard, surrounded on three sides by massive arcades, where the cotton bales coming from the country are brought in, and preparatory to their shipment are again pressed, that they may occupy as little room as possible in the vessel. The bales were arranged on a layer of thick plank, between which there is room allowed to pass the ropes through. Above the bales, which are placed between four strong iron vices, is a cover, in which there is room left for the ropes as below. These covers have four apertures, with female screws, through which the vices pass. On every screw there is a face wheel. All these four face wheels are driven by a crown wheel, which is put in motion by a horse. The covers are thus screwed down on the bales, and their bulk reduced one-third. During the pressure, the negro labourers have drawn the ropes through the groves between the planks and fastened the bales with little difficulty. This warehouse or magazine has two such presses. It occupies three sides of the yard, the fourth contains a handsome dwelling house. The whole is built of brick, and has an iron verandah. It belongs to speculators in New Orleans, and is known by the name of the “fire proof magazine,” although the interior is of wood.

The weather was very fine, and as warm as we have it in summer: I felt it very much in walking, and most of the doors and windows in the houses stood open. On this account I seated myself in the piazza before the house. A number of Choctaw Indians, who led a wandering life in the woods around the town, went about the streets selling wood, which they carried in small billets, bound on their backs. They are of a darker colour, and, if possible, still dirtier than the Creeks, they wrap themselves also in blankets, and most of them wore round hats trimmed with tin rings and pieces of tin. I walked through the streets of the place, which contains several large stores, to all appearance well stocked. In these excursions I found an old Brunswicker, named Thomas, who kept a grog-shop here, and who showed me a young alligator, an ugly animal, at most three months old. It was about eight inches long, and was preserved in a tub of water, in which it was daily supplied with fresh grass. When it was taken out of the water and placed on the sand, it ran about with much alacrity. Its head was disproportionately large, and it had already double rows of sharp teeth.

In the afternoon we saw a volunteer company, of about twenty and upwards strong, pretty well equipped, turn out to celebrate the anniversary of the battle of New Orleans, the eighth of January, 1815. On the preceding day, being Sunday, this festival was not commemorated. They had erected a platform on an open spot of ground, and brought there three old iron pieces, with which a national salute of twenty-four guns was fired. Colonel Wool had many acquaintances and countrymen here, from the north, to whom he introduced me. Conversation, therefore, did not fail us, though many comforts of life are withheld for a period. Thus, for example, I was deprived of milk so long as I was in the Indian territory, as the cattle were driven into the woods during the winter, to support themselves.

I made an attempt to pass round the town, but was prevented on one side by woods, and on the other, by ditches and marshes, so that I found myself limited in my promenade to the streets. These, however, I measured to my heart’s content. There was nothing new to me but some fruit shops, in which were excellent oranges from Cuba, at six cents a piece, large pine apples, much larger than the finest I had seen in England, also from Cuba, at forty-two and three-quarter cents a piece, thus much dearer than in Charleston, where they cost but twelve and a half cents a piece, besides bananas and cocoa nuts in abundance.

CHAPTER XVIII

Travels to Pensacola

Colonel Wool was obliged to go to Pensacola, in pursuance of his duty of inspection. I determined to accompany him with Mr. Huygens, as Pensacola was interesting to me as a military man. Mr. Bowdoin felt himself unwell, and was tired of travelling. He remained, therefore, in Mobile, with the intention of going to New Orleans by the first opportunity.

On the 10th of January, we left Mobile in the steam-boat Emeline. This vessel goes daily from Blakely, which lies on the left shore of the bay, to Mobile, and back again. The distance amounts, in a straight line, to about twelve miles; some marshy islands covered with cane and shallows, lengthen the passage to fourteen miles. The Emeline, Captain Fowler, is the smallest steam-boat that I ever saw. She is only of thirty-two tons burthen, is built of planks, which are laid over each other without ribs, like a skiff, and the engine, a low pressure, has only eight horse-power. The boat belongs to the captain, and, with its engine, was constructed in New York. When it left that city to sail for Mobile, no insurance company would undertake to underwrite it, and Mr. Fowler was compelled to come on his individual risk. His capital embarked in it, will, nevertheless, produce a very good profit. Yet the smallest steam-boats which navigate the Florida and Alabama rivers, are insured. Some are too old and rotten for any company to insure, especially as the navigation on these rivers is so dangerous, that the few good vessels must give one per cent. monthly, as a premium.

From the water side, Mobile, with its ships in harbour, has a pretty appearance. We had also a handsome view of Mobile Bay, in which we counted nine ships of various sizes stretching in. A number of wild ducks flew about among the islands. In two hours we crossed the bay, and landed at five o’clock in the evening at Blakely.

This place has a very good situation, on rather an elevated bank, in a grove nearly composed of live oaks, of which some are full twenty feet in circumference. A bushy kind of palm tree grows here which is called Spanish bayonet, which appears to partake of the nature of the macaw trees. Blakely was founded in the year 1816, by a Mr. Blakely, dead about five years since, and then sold to various speculators. This place was established to injure Mobile, and to draw the commerce of that place away from it. The design has, however, failed of success. Mobile is superior in capital, and Blakely has injured itself alone. Upon the shore stand two large wooden buildings in ruins, the smallest part of them only is rented, and used as stores. On the eminence behind these buildings are placed about twenty wooden houses, of which the largest is the only tavern, and it is really a respectable one. We took our lodging there. The houses are very neatly built, with projecting roofs and piazzas, and surrounded with gardens. Some, however, are deserted, and exhibit the decay of the place. A large wooden edifice two stories high, provided with a cupola, was originally intended for an academy; from the want of scholars, this academy has never been in operation, the building therefore is used as a place of worship, and as a court-house. The number of inhabitants cannot exceed two hundred.