mery, on the Alabama river.
We found ourselves the sole occupants of the vehicle, and were
congratulating each other on the chance, when we heard directions given
to the driver to halt at Sodom, for the purpose of taking up a gentleman
and his lady,--_Anglice_, a gambler and his mistress.

It was dark as pitch and raining hard when we set out: a few minutes
found us rumbling along the enclosed bridge, amidst the mingled roar of
the rain, our wheels, and the neighbouring falls: the flood passing
below us had in the course of the last ten hours risen nearly twenty
feet; its rush was awful.

At one of the first houses in the redoubtable border village the stage
halted, and a couple of trunks were added to our load; next, a female
was handed into the coach, followed by her protector. The proportions of
neither could at this time be more than guessed at; and not one syllable
was exchanged by any of the parties. In a few minutes we were again
under weigh, and plunging through the forest.

We reached Fort-Mitchell about daylight, where formerly a considerable
garrison was kept up: the post is now, however, abandoned. Here an
unanticipated treat awaited us, for we were compelled to leave our, by
this time, tolerably warm stage, for one fairly saturated with the rain
that had fallen during the night. Our luggage was pitched into the mud
by the coachman, who had only one assistant; so we were fain to lend a
hand, instead of standing shivering by, until the trunks were fished
out, and disposed of on the new stage. A delay here of an hour and a
half enabled me, however, to stroll back, and take a look at the
deserted barrack. By this time too the day was well out; the sky broke
with a more cheerful look than for some days back had favoured us, and
was hailed by us all with great pleasure.

I prepared my 'baccy, and climbed on to the box by the driver, resolute
to hold on there as long as possible. For five hours we got along at the
rate of four miles an hour, through a forest of pine growing out of a
sandy soil, without any undergrowth whatever,--the trees of the noblest
height, and just so far apart that horsemen might have galloped in any
direction without difficulty. Our driver was a lively intelligent young
fellow, having a civil word of inquiry or of greeting for every Indian
we encountered: these were by no means numerous however, and they seldom
replied by more than a monosyllable, hardly appearing to notice our
passage.