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 thebottom 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 theyreplied 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 becameso 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 inrendering 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 theyhad 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 situatedabout 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 Indianschool. 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 appearto 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 theCreek 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 intoxicatingliquors, 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 hadbeen 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 bythe 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 theUnited 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.