miss an opportunity of mingling in a fray, but justice requires the fact should also be chronicled, that it was always done upon the same principle Richard of England proposed a duel with Saladin, viz. to prove his manhood. He had no idea of malice as connected with a fair, stand-up, and knock-down fight. The man he had one minute pummelled to a jelly, he would, the next, convey to his boat, wash his bruises, and drench him with whiskey. Nor did the slightest feeling of anger remain with him, if he happened to be worsted in the encounter. He looked upon the whole thing as a simple trial of strength and endurance; and no matter how it ended, it was perfectly understood that no ill blood was to follow. Among his other characteristics, there was a large amount of strong common sense, aided by such knowledge of the world as might be picked up during his trading career, which embraced several expeditions to New Orleans, then the Ultima Thule of all boatmen upon the upper tributaries of the Mississippi.

Their supper was the ordinary fare of boatmen ; — fried bacon, roasted potatoes, coffee without cream, and corn-bread. The host, whose name was Neel, appeared to have an indistinct impression that this might not be exactly as palatable to uninitiated strangers, as a meal served up in one of the fashionable hotels of New Orleans.

66

I reckon," he said, "that you have been used to better fare, and I will mend it with some venison to-morrow, unless the d-n-d half-breeds on the bank are too lazy to kill a deer."

His guests courteously replied, that they were quite contented with any thing Mr. Neel himself could put up with. "Call me Jack. Even the boys here never think of calling me by any other name."

The boys alluded to, were two boatmen nearly as powerful as himself, whom he had hired to assist in the management

of his craft, and whose long, unshaven beards would have done honor to the days of Moses.

As soon as the meal was dispatched, Jack Neel proposed that Gray and Allison should accompany him to the tavern and participate in the night's amusement. To his surprise the invitation was declined. Mistaking the cause, he said encouragingly,

"They are a rough set, certain; though they are mighty apt to be civil to a stranger at the worst, and I would like to see a man look cross at a friend who went there under my wing. As to the gals, they will be sure to cotton to you,' if for nothing else in the world, than because they never seed you before."

Gray explained that he had no fears of personal ill treatment, and wishing Mr. Neel all possible enjoyment at the "frolic," persisted in declining to accompany him.

"Well," replied the boatman, internally wondering how any man could refuse so tempting an offer; "well, if you won't go, and will stay with the boat, I'll give the boys a holiday, and take them along with me."

No proposition could have been more acceptable to the boys. The three started off in high glee, leaving the boat, and everything it contained, in the custody of two strangers they had never heard of twenty-four hours before. If any one had asked Jack Neel to explain this imprudent confidence, he would have answered, "God Almighty writes a mighty plain hand, and I could see with half an eye them fellows was honest." There was another cause which doubtless operated upon him, though he might not have assigned it. The most common crime of cities, and crowded districts, was unknown in the back-woods. They would drink, swear, fight, and sometimes kill. Larceny and robbery were out of the question. They were loth to believe that a white man could steal, and when they heard of such things in their occasional trips

"the

to New Orleans, they were sure to charge them upon d-n-d French and Spaniards, who were half mulattoes anyhow." If the genuine flat-boatman of the South-West was often dissolute, often reckless of moral restraint, at least he was always manly-always honest. They were, in a great degree, an unlettered race. Their annual rovings upon the river, withdrew them for long periods from the wholesome restraints of public opinion. Their traffic necessarily brought them in contact with the bad, as well as the good, and their laborious avocation made every species of relaxation an enjoyment. No wonder they eagerly plunged into every kind of excitement, and thought not, and cared not, what name the moralist might bestow upon it. I have seen an army in possession of a conquered city, and educated gentlemen, who, at home, were rigidly observant of all the proprieties of life, mingling with high delight in scenes as debasing as any ever enacted on the South-Western waters. Without intending to excuse the one or the other, it is but fair that the weakness of human nature should be taken into the account, and that some allowance should be made for the circumstances surrounding both.

With the morning, the boatmen returned. The "frolic" had been one of unusual interest, and peals of laughter resounded through the boat as they recounted how this one "got drunk, and cavorted, and fell cowhallop into Betsey Sims's lap." Or how that one became bewildered in the dance, not knowing exactly who was his vis-a-vis, when the fiddler came to his relief, by bawling out, at the top of his voice, “Dance to the gal with a hole in her stocking.". "And," continued the narrator, "didn't she shake a nasty foot when Bill did begin to buck up to her!"

Many other scenes and incidents were related with an exuberant glee which left no doubt that Jack Neel and his boys had enjoyed themselves to their hearts' content. We pause

not to speculate upon the character of that enjoyment. It was enjoyment; vicious, if you choose, but not half so bad as the "Free-love" communions abounding in the moral and religious atmosphere to the northward of the Potomac — not a whit worse than the polished hypocrisy, the insinuated slander, and the lewd contact of the sexes, so familiar to the gilded saloons of cities, where well-bred damsels esteem it unfashionable to expose less than half a leg, and all the breast.

When breakfast was over, Gray took his host aside, and, explaining to him that his object was to reach the Mexican province of Texas, asked his advice as to the best route to be pursued. "Well, there's several ways," was the response, "and none of them the best. If you want to go quietly and cheaply, stay on my boat until I get down among the freighters; then take a cotton-boat to the mouth of Red River. The boys will charge you nothing, except to help them on a pinch, and pinches will come d―n-d often, after you strike the Mississippi." "How long will it take to reach Red River?"

"That's as luck will have it. be three. We have to allow for sawyers."

May-be two months

-may

the winds, the fogs, and the

"That is slow travelling," said Gray.

"Slow, but sure. No sheriff, or deputy, will board a flatboat, unless he happens to have a liking for a cold swim on a winter's day."

Upon consultation with John Allison, it was determined to adopt the plan Neel suggested. Sales at Ross's Landing were getting dull, and the trader prepared to seek another market. Gray stood upon the deck by the steersman when the cable was slipped, and the heavy boat swung lazily into the stream. A few strokes from the long oars at the bow aided her passage to the main current of the river. The oars were then unshipped, and the labors of all but the steersman were at an end. The river here cuts its way through the heart of the

Cumberland Mountains. Lofty peaks and rugged crags rise up on either hand. On some, a thick covering of trees stretches upward, from the water's edge to the clouds. Over these, Autumn had thrown her many-colored mantle. Gold, purple, and green, glittered in the rays of the rising sun. The beauty of the rainbow was there, and, mingled with that beauty, was a wild and terrible grandeur, which chastened admiration with awe. No cultivated field marred the vastness of the prospect. No cottage peeped from among the giant trees. Nature stretched her sceptre over the scene, and man, humbled and abashed at the majesty of her works, cowered and trembled as he gazed. The boat glides on, and now another view of the mighty panorama is presented. Here no ledges intervene no trees obstruct the sight. Sudden, abrupt, from the midst of the waters, the solid rock rears itself in desolate magnificence towards the skies. Upon its inhospitable sides no verdure is visible; for even the tenacious moss seeks in vain a crevice where a foothold may be secured. Steep and regular as a castle wall, it bares its adamantine breast to the north wind's blast, and laughs in scorn at the feeble waves that beat against its base. Here the river grows jealous, and demands its share of admiration. It may not rival the grandeur of the land, but a rushing noise proclaims that danger and death are brooding over the waters, and terror lends its aid to win for the envious stream the traveller's sole attention. We are nearing the "Suck." Suddenly it is gathered in a narrow channel, and then rushes in a headlong volume for hundreds of yards, as if poured from a precipice.

"Up, boys," shouted Neel, "all of you to the steering-oar, and hold her steady."

The boat took the current, and even the hardy owner held his breath as it was dashed along with lightning speed by the foaming torrent. A moment followed -a moment of awful suspense and it was tossing in the "boiling pot" below.