GAME-FIRE-FLIES. 189 Mrs. Mills spoke very favourably of the cheapness of the country. Every thing required for family use was raised by her on her farm, excepting coffee,-and her game-keeper, an Indian, gave her abundance of game, especially of wild-deer and wild turkeys. He had brought her forty deer from the 1st January to the 19th March. The wild turkey is very plentiful here, and easily brought down. At the stopping-place we found a carpenter fitting up a house for Mrs. Mills. He was bivouacking with his wife and family on the spot. His wife was preparing cotton for the loom, and makes all the cloth used in the family, including table-cloths and shirts. The whole operations of carding, spinning, and weaving, are done by the women. We dined at Macdavid's hotel, ten miles further on, and had plenty of very nice pork, which in some shape or other is the food generally used in this thinly peopled country at this season of the year. When the stage stopped at Macdavid's, the driver called to the slave in waiting, "Where is the pan? come let us take a wash." This is very much according to the custom here. The water is brought in a large pewter basin, and is set down in the space between the parallel apartments of the house, where there is a large towel upon a roller. From Macdavid's we proceeded to Judge Burns' hotel, five miles from Blakeley. On our way our path was illuminated by fire-flies, which are here very large, and are called lightning-bugs, but, notwithstanding, we for the first time. got entangled upon one of the stumps, and lost so much time in extricating ourselves, that we did not reach Judge Burns' house till one o'clock in the morning. I could find no fault, the driver being civil and obliging, and doing all he could in roads that should not be travelled after sunset,-merely a tract in the forest covered with stumps. Judge Burns' is a good hotel, and no difficulty was found in getting us coffee, even at one in the morning. After an excellent breakfast next morning, at which the Judge presided, we started for Blakeley, five miles off on the eastern outlet of the Mobile River. The driver to Mobile both understood his business and was civil. He was bribed to come to this country from Washington, by an offer of 400 dollars a-year, besides his board. A few years ago Blakeley was a thriving place, but the situation has turned out to be unhealthy, and building is now at a stand. A steam-boat was in waiting at Blakeley to carry us to Mobile, twelve miles. The boat was sufficiently dirty, and the persons who navigated her careless, swearing people. She was only of eighteen-horse power. The general government pays 1000 dollars a-year for transporting the mail in this boat these twelve miles. There were some Choctaw Indians in the boat, who were on their way to Mobile to sell their deer skins. On reaching Mobile, I found that it would be advisable to proceed immediately by steam to New Orleans, the stage road being at present almost impassable. Mobile is an increasing place, notwithstanding a great fire which some time ago destroyed a very considerable part of the town. The situation is on the STEAM-BOAT TO NEW ORLEANS. 191 west side of the Mobile bay, one of the safest shipping stations on the Gulf of Mexico, but the neighbouring swamps render it at certain seasons unhealthy; a great deal of cotton is now raised in this neighbourhood, and exported at Mobile, so that it has become, what it never was under the Spanish or French regime, when attached to West Florida, a very considerable shipping port for cotton, inferior only to Charleston and New Orleans. The population of Mobile is understood to be about 6000 persons. The steam-boat for New Orleans, distant about 190 miles, started from Mobile within an hour and a half after we arrived there. She is a vessel of a very different description from that in which we came from Blakeley in the morning. She was built in the north, -is of the burthen of 130 tons, and of forty-five horse power, with a low-pressure engine, her name the Mount Vernon. Captain Quin, the commander, takes care that she is well managed, and that the passengers are well treated in all respects. The fare, twelve dollars, including provisions, and light claret, which is distributed to all the boatmen, and is in common use on the Gulf of Mexico: even at breakfast they use it. The price of this wine, the captain told me, is about tenpence per bottle. The engineer has 1200 dollars a-year; the pilot 75 dollars a-month. The general government pay 2500 dollars a-year for having the mail conveyed from Mobile to New Orleans. The passage is almost entirely within a range of islands, which breaks the force of the sea, so that it is generally made in still water. We had rather rough weather on the evening on which we left Mobile,-and, finding that we touched the bank within Dauphin Island, we were obliged to go without it into the Gulf of Mexico. On the 21st March we stopped at Pascagola bay to take in wood. Here, upon an island, is a curious settlement of French people, who came here about a century ago, and live in a most primitive style on what the island affords-venison and game, fish and oysters. They still speak French, and have always maintained the character of being a virtuous people. The island is very healthy, consisting of land chiefly covered with pine-wood, which is now becoming valuable, from the increasing demand for steam-vessels. The inhabitants are beginning to improve and make roads. Their island must soon be of considerable value. On this passage I for the first time saw the pelican, a large bird, with white plumage. They appeared in considerable numbers, and made a prodigious noise. The sheep's-head fish, which is certainly one of the best that is found on the American coast, abounds in the Gulf of Mexico. In the steam-boat we were well supplied with it, and with oysters, of which they made excellent soup. We had a remarkably pleasant party of passengers, among whom I can never forget Mr. Daly, an Irishman, who had all the wit and good humour of his countrymen. The steam-boat comes only to within six miles of New Orleans,-the rest of the voyage is made in a small boat on a canal, which brought us to New Orleans before breakfast on the 22d March. NEW ORLEANS. 193 CHAPTER XXVI. Richardson's Hotel at New Orleans-Lavand's Planters' and Merchants' Hotel-Waiters-Slaves-Laws as to Slaves-Green PeasBites of Mosquitos-Mosquito Curtains-Situation of New Orleans -Population-Theatres-Levee-Internal water communicationSteam-boats-Cotton and Sugar-Mr. Flint's description of New Orleans-Its insular Situation-Stripe of fertile Land-Market-placeCleaning of the Streets-Relative Number of Americans and French -Sign-posts-Lotteries, &c.-Corps of Gens d'Armes-French Theatre best attended on Sunday-Female Beauty-Manners of Females-Marriages of the Quadroons-Women of light Character not distinguishable on the Streets of the American Cities-Strict Decorum preserved-Way of spending Sunday-Few Churches-Treatment of Slaves-Sent to Prison and punished by the Gaoler-Number of Slaves for Sale here-Duke of Saxe Weimar's Account of the Punishment of a Slave here-Louisianian Laws affecting Slaves and Free Men of Colour-Execution of a Slave-Retrospective Effect of the Laws-Newspapers at New Orleans have decreased in Number during the last Twenty Years-Reading-Rooms only lately established-Edinburgh Scotsman Newspaper-Newspaper half French, half English-Hackney Coaches at New Orleans-Labourers' Wages high-Visits to Plantations-Mr. Flint's Account of a Louisianian Plantation-Slaves on the Plantations-Details of Mr. Hopkins' Plantation-Education of Slaves-Capital Error in not educating them in the British Colonies-Education must precede Emancipation-New Orleans' Battle Ground-Details of the Battle-General Jackson's brief Account of it-His great Merit consisted in restoring Confidence-His Decision of Character saved New Orleans-His VOL. 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