CHAPTER X.
Having now completed my collections in Georgia, I took leave of these Southern regions, proceeding on my return to Charleston. Left Savanna in the evening, in consequence of a pressing invitation from the honourable Jonathan Bryan, Esq. who was returning from the capital, to his villa, about eight miles up Savanna river; a very delightful situation, where are spacious gardens, furnished with variety of fruit trees and flowering shrubs. Observed in a low wet place at the corner of the garden, the Ado (Arum esculentum); this plant is much cultivated in the maritime parts of Georgia and Florida, for the sake of its large Turnip-like root, which when boiled or roasted, is excellent food, and tastes like the Yam; the leaves of this magnificent plant are very large, and of a beautiful green colour, the spatha large and circulated, the spadix terminates with a very long subulated tongue, naked and perfectly white: perhaps this may be the Arum Colocasia. They have likewise another species of the esculent Arum, called Tannier, which is a large and beautiful plant, and much cultivated and esteemed for food, particularly by the Negroes.
At night, soon after our arrival, several of his servants came home with horse loads of wild pigeons (Columba migratoria), which it seems they had collected in a short space of time at a neighbouring Bay swamp: they take them by torch light: the birds have particular roosting places, where they associate in incredible multitudes at evening, on low trees and bushes, in hommocks or higher knolls in the interior parts of vast swamps. Many people go out together on this kind of sport, when dark: some take with them little fascines of fat Pine splinters for torches; others sacks or bags; and others furnish themselves with poles or staves: thus accoutered and prepared, they approach the roosts; the sudden blaze of light confounds, blinds and affrights the birds, whereby multitudes drop off the limbs to the ground, and others are beaten off with the staves, being by the sudden consternation, entirely helpless, and easily taken and put into the sacks. It is chiefly the sweet small acorns of the Quercus phillos, Quercus aquatica, Quercus sempervirens, Quercus flammula, and others, which induce these birds to migrate in the autumn to those Southern regions; where they spend their days agreeably, and feast luxuriously, during the rigour of the colds in the North, whither they return at the approach of summer to breed.
Sat off next day, and crossed the river at Zubley’s ferry, about fifty miles above Savanna, and in three days after arrived at Charleston.
Observed, by the way near Jacksonsburg Ponpon, After fructicovus, growing plentifully in good moist ground, usually by the banks of canals. It is a most charming autumnal flowering shrub, it will rise to the height of eight or ten feet, when supported by neighbouring trees.
After a few days residence in Charleston, I sat off on my return to my native land; crossed Cowper river, about nine miles above the city, where the water was a mile wide, and the ferry-house being on the opposite shore, I hoisted my travelling blanket on a pole for a signal, which being white, the people soon came to me and carried me safe over. In three days more easy travelling, I crossed Winyaw bay, just below Georgetown; and in two days more, got to the west end of Long bay, where I lodged at a large Indigo plantation. Sat off early next morning, and after crossing over the sand ridges, which afford little else but Quercus pumila, Myrica cerifera, Cassine, Sideroxylon and Andromeda entangled with various species of Smilax, got on the bay, which is a hard sand beach, exposed for the distance of fifteen miles to the continual lash of the Atlantic ocean. At about low water mark, are cliffs of rocks of the helmintholithus, being a very firm concrete or petrifaction, consisting of various kinds of seashells, fine sand and pulverized shells: there is a reef of these rocks, thirty or forty yards farther out than low water mark, which lift their rugged backs above water, and brave the continual strokes of the waves, which, however, assisted by the constant friction of the sands, make continual inroads upon them, bore them into holes and cavities, when tempestuous seas rend them to pieces, scattering the fragments over the sandy shore. It is pleasant riding on this clean hard sand, paved with shells of various colours.
Observed a number of persons coming up a head, whom I soon perceived to be a party of Negroes. I had every reason to dread the consequence; for this being a desolate place, I was by this time several miles from any house or plantation, and had reason to apprehend this to be a predatory band of Negroes; people being frequently attacked, robbed, and sometimes murdered by them at this place. I was unarmed, alone, and my horse tired; thus situated every way in their power, I had no alternative but to be resigned and prepare to meet them. As soon as I saw them distinctly a mile or two off, I immediately alighted to rest, and give breath to my horse, intending to attempt my safety by slight, if upon near approach they should betray hostile designs. Thus prepared, when we drew near to each other, I mounted and rode briskly up; and though armed with clubs, axes and hoes, they opened to right and left, and let me pass peaceably. Their chief informed me whom they belonged to, and said they were going to man a new quarter at the west end of the bay; I however kept a sharp eye about me, apprehending that this might possibly have been an advanced division, and their intentions were to ambuscade and surround me; but they kept on quietly, and I was no more alarmed by them. After noon, I crossed the swash at the east end of the bay, and in the evening got to good quarters. Next morning early I sat off again, and soon crossed Little River at the boundary; which is on the line that separates North and South Carolina: in an old field, on the banks of this river, a little distance from the public house, stands a single tree of the Magnolia grandiflora, which is said to be the most northern settlement of that tree. Passed this day over expansive savannas, charmingly decorated with late autumnal flowers, as Helianthus, Rudbeckia, Silphium, Solidago, Helenium, Serratula, Cacalia, Aster, Lillium Martagon, Gentiana cærulea, Chironia, Gentiana saponaria, Asclepias coccinea, Hypericum, Rhexia pulcherima, &c. &c.
Observed likewise in these savannas abundance of the ludicrous Dionæa muscipula (Dionæa, Ellis epis. ad Linnæum, miraculum naturæ, folia biloba, radicalia, ciliata, conduplicanda, sensibilia, insecta incarcerantia. Syst. vegetab. p. 335).
This wonderful plant seems to be distinguished in the creation, by the Author of nature, with faculties eminently superior to every other vegetable production[59]; specimens of it were first communicated to the curious of the old world by John Bartram, the American botanist and traveller, who contributed as much if not more than any other man towards enriching the North American botanical nomenclature, as well as its natural history.
After traversing these ample savannas, I gradually ascended sand hills to open Pine forests; at evening got to Old town near Brunswick, where I lodged. Brunswick is a sea-port town on the Clarendon, or Cape Fear river, about thirty miles above the capes; it is about thirty years since this was the seat of government, when Arthur Dobbs, Esq. was governor and commander in chief of the province of North Carolina. Continued up the west side of North West of Cape Fear river, and rested two or three days at the seat of F. Lucas, Esq. a few miles above Livingston’s creek, a considerable branch of the North West. This creek heads in vast swamps, in the vicinity of the beautiful lake Wakamaw, which is the source of a fine river of that name, and runs a South course seventy or eighty miles, delivering its waters into Winyaw bay at George-town. The Wakamaw lake is twenty-six miles in circuit; the lands on its Eastern shores are fertile, and the situation delightful, gradually ascending from pleasing eminences; bounded on the North-West coast by vast rich swamps, fit for the production of Rice: the lake is twelve miles west from —— Moore’s, Esq. whose villa is on the banks of the North West.
Proceeding again up the North West, crossed Carver’s creek, and stopped at Ashwood, the ancient seat of Colonel William Bartram. The house stands on the high banks of the river, near seventy feet in height, above the surface of the water; this high bluff continues two or three miles on the river, and commands a magnificent prospect of the low lands opposite, when in their native state, presenting to the view grand forests and expansive Cane meadows: the trees which compose these forests are generally of the following tribes, Quercus tinctoria, Querc. alba, Querc. phillos, Querc. aquatica, Querc. hemispherica, Fraxinus excelsior, Platanus occidentalis, Liriodendron tulipifera, Liquidambar styraciflua, Ulmus, Telea, Juglans hickory, Juglans cinerea, Juglans nigra, Morus rubra, Gleditsia triacanthus, Hopea tinctoria, Nyssa aquatica, Nyssa sylvatica, Carpinus and many more; the Cupressus disticha as stately and beautiful as I have seen any where. When these lands are cleared of their timber and cultivated, they produce abundantly, particularly, Wheat, Zea, Cotton, Hemp, Flax, with variety of excellent vegetables. This perpendicular bank of the river, by which the waters swiftly glide along, discovers at once the various strata of the earth of this low maritime country. For the most part the upper stratum consists of a light, sandy, pale, yellowish mould or loam, for ten or twelve feet in depth (except the flat level land back from the rivers, where the clays or marle approach very near the surface, and the ridges of sand hills, where the clays lie much deeper): this sandy mould or loam lies upon a deep bed of black, or dark slate coloured saline and sulphureous earth, which is composed of horizontal thin flakes or laminæ, separable by means of very thin, almost imperceptible veins or strata of fine micaceous particles, which drain or percolate a clear water, continually exuding, or trickling down, and forming little rills and diminutive cataracts, being conducted by perpendicular chinks or fissures: in some places, a portion of this clear water or transparent vapour, seems to coagulate on the edges of the veins and fissures, leaving a reddish curd or jelly-like substance sticking to them, which I should suppose indicates it to spring from a ferruginous source, especially since it discovers a chalybeate scent and taste: in other places these fissures show evidently a crystallization of exceeding fine white salts, which have an alluminous or vitriolic scent: there are pyrites, marcasites, or sulphureous nodules, shining like brass, of various sizes and forms, some single and others conglomerated: other places present to view, strata of heterogenous matter, lying between the upper loamy stratum and the bed of black saline earth, consisting of various kinds of sea shells, some whole, others broken to pieces, and even pulverized, which fill up the cavities of the entire shells, and the interstices betwixt them: at other places we observe, two or three feet below the surface or virgin mould, a stratum of four, five or six feet in depth, of brownish marle, on a bed of testaceous rocks; a petrefaction composed apparently of various kinds of sea shells, belemnites, sand, &c. combined or united with a calcareous cement: these masses of rocks are in some places detached by veins and strata of a heterogenous earth, consisting of sea shells and other marine productions, as well as terrestrial, which seem to be fossile or in some degree of petrifaction, or otherwise transmuted, particularly those curious productions called birds bills or sharks teeth (dentes carchariæ) belemnites, &c. loosely mixed with a desiccated earth composed of sand, clay, particles of marle, vegetable rubbish, &c. And again we observe shells, marcasites, belemnites, dentes carchariæ, with pieces of wood transmuted, black and hard as sea coal, singly interspersed in the black vitriolic strata of earth: when this black earth is exposed to the sun and dry air, the little thin laminæ separate, and soon discover a fine, white crystallization, or alluminous powder; but this very soon disappears, being again incorporated with the general mass, which gradually dissolves or falls like quick-lime, and appears then a greyish, extremely fine, dry micaceous powder, which smells like gun-powder.
The North West of Cape Fear, here at Ashwood, is near three hundred yards over (when the stream is low and within its banks), and is eighty or ninety miles above the capes. Observed growing hereabouts a great variety of very curious and beautiful flowering and sweet scented shrubs, particularly Callicarpa, Æsculus pavia, floribus coccineis, caule suffructicoso, Æsculus sylvatica, floribus ex albo et carneo eleganter variegatis, caule arboreo, Ptelea trifoliata, Styrax, Stewartia, Fothergilla, Amorpha, Myrica, Stillingia fructicosa, foliis lanciolatis, utrinque glabris, fructu tricocco, Olea Americana, foliis lanceolato-ellipticis, baccis atro-purpureis (Purple berried bay), Catesby. Ilex dahoon, Cassine Yapon, Azalea, varieties, Kalmia, Cyrilla, Liquidambar peregrinum, Sideroxylon, Andromeda lucida, &c.
Leaving Ashwood, and continuing up the west side of the river, about forty miles, in the banks of a creek, five or six feet below the sandy surface, are to be seen projecting out many feet in length, trunks of trees petrified to very hard stone; they lie between the upper sandy stratum and the common bed of blackish vitriolic earth; and these stone trees are to be seen in the same situation, sticking out of the perpendicular banks or bluffs of the river in this region: there are several trunks of large trees with their bark, stumps of their limbs and roots, lying petrified on the sand hills and Pine forests, near the road about this creek, not far from the saw-mills.
Crossed Rock-fish, a large branch of the North West, near its mouth or confluence, and at evening arrived at Cross-Creeks, another very considerable branch of the river, flowing in through its west banks. This creek gave name to a fine inland trading town, on some heights or swelling hills, from whence the creek descends precipitately, then gently meanders near a mile, through lower level lands, to its confluence with the river, affording most convenient mill-seats: these prospects induced active enterprising men to avail themselves of such advantages pointed out to them by nature; they built mills, which drew people to the place, and these observing eligible situations for other profitable improvements, bought lots and erected tenements, where they exercised mechanic arts, as smiths, wheelwrights, carpenters, coopers, tanners, &c. And at length merchants were encouraged to adventure and settle: in short, within eight or ten years from a grist-mill, saw-mill, smith-shop and a tavern, arose a flourishing commercial town, the seat of government of the county of Cumberland. The leading men of the county, seeing plainly the superior advantages of this situation, on the banks of a famous navigable river, petitioned the Assembly for a charter to empower them to purchase a district, sufficient for founding a large town, which being granted, they immediately proceeded to mark out its precincts, and named the new city Cambelton, a compliment to —— Cambel, Esq. a gentleman of merit, and a citizen of the county. When I was here about twenty years ago, this town was marking out its bounds, and there were then about twenty habitations, and now there are above a thousand houses, many wealthy merchants, and respectable public buildings, a vast resort of inhabitants and travellers, and continual brisk commerce by waggons, from the back settlements, with large trading boats, to and from Wilmington, the seaport and flourishing trading town on the Clarendon, about forty miles above the capes, which is about one hundred miles below this town. The Clarendon or Cape Fear river has its source in the Cherokee mountains, where its numerous confederate streams unite, after leaving the first ridges of the mountains, it assumes the name of Haw river, and coursing the hilly fertile country, above one hundred and fifty miles, receives through its west banks the west branch, called Deep River, and after this union, takes the name of the North-West of Cape Fear, from whence, down to Cambelton, about eighty miles it is navigable for perriauguas of considerable burthen.
Observed near Cambelton a very curious scandent Fern (Pteris scandens) rambling over low bushes, in humid situations; the lower larger fronds were digitated, or rather radiated, but towards the tops or extremities of the branches they became trifid, hastated, and lastly lanceolate: it is a delicate plant, of a yellowish lively green, and would be an ornament in a garden.
Sat off again to Cambelton, continuing yet up the North West about sixty miles; crossed over this branch, and soon after crossed the Roanoke, and then rested a few days at Mr. Lucas’s, a worthy old gentleman, a planter on Meherren river. Observed strolling over his fences and stables, a very singular and useful species of the Gourd (Cucurbita lagenaria); its neck or handle is above two feet in length, and not above an inch in diameter; its belly round, which would contain about a pint; it makes excellent ladles, funnels, &c. At a little distance from Mr. Lucas’s, at the head of a swamp near the high road, I observed a very curious species of Prinos, which grows seven or eight feet high, the leaves broad, lanceolate, sharply serrated, nervous, and of a deep green colour; but its striking beauty consists in profuse clusters of fruit, collected about the cases or origin of the last spring’s shoots; these berries are nearly round, about the size of middling grapes, of a fine clear scarlet colour, covered or invested with an incarnate mist or nebulæ.
Being now arrived on the South border of Virginia, and the hoary frigid season far advanced, I shall pass as speedily as possible from hence to Pennsylvania, my native country; since those cultivated regions of Virginia and Maryland, through which I design to travel, have been over and over explored, and described by very able men in every branch of natural history.
After leaving Meherren, I soon arrived at Alexandria in Virginia, a fine city on the west banks of the Patowmac, about the 26th of December, having had excellent roads, and pleasant, moderate weather, neither snow nor ice to be seen, except a slight fall of snow from a flying cloud, the day before I reached this place; but this evening it clouded up from the west, the wind North-East and cold. Next morning the snow was eight or ten inches deep on the ground, and the wind shifting to North-West, cleared up intensely cold: I however sat off and crossed the river just below the falls, and landed at George-town in Maryland. The snow was now deep every where around, the air cold to an extreme, and the roads deep under snow or slippery with ice, rendered the travelling uncomfortable.
Being now arrived at Wright’s ferry, on the Susquehanna, I began anxiously to look towards home, but here I found almost insuperable embarrassments: the river being but half frozen over, there was no possibility of crossing here, but hearing that people crossed at Anderson’s, about five miles above, early next morning I sat off again up the river, in company with several travellers, some for Philadelphia: arriving at the ferry, we were joined by a number of traders, with their pack-horses loaded with leather and furs, where we all agreed to venture over together; and keeping at a moderate distance from each other, examining well our icy bridge, and being careful of our steps, we landed safe on the opposite shore, got to Lancaster in the evening, and next morning sat forward again towards Philadelphia, and in two days more arrived at my father’s house on the banks of the river Schuylkill, within four miles of the city, January 1778.
[59] See some account of it in the Introduction.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE PERSONS, MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND GOVERNMENT, OF THE MUSCOGULGES, OR CREEKS, CHEROKEES, CHACTAWS, &c. ABORIGINES OF THE CONTINENT OF NORTH AMERICA.
BY WILLIAM BARTRAM.