banks of the Mississippi. The most common wild animals in this country now are deer, bears, wolves, foxes, wild cats, raccoons, opossums, and several kinds of squirrels.

The raccoon is very destructive in the maize fields. It climbs up the stems, breaks them down, and gnaws the ears. The farmers hunt it with dogs in the night, for it generally lies concealed. during the day. The planters have most enmity against the squirrels, which make great havoc amongst the wheat. Several times a day the children are sent round the fields to scare them from the corn. At the least noise they run off by dozens, and take refuge in the trees, where they hide till they have a safe opportunity of returning to the spoil. These animals, like the bears, change their situation with the season, and at the approach of winter appear in such multitudes in Kentucky, that the farmers are obliged to unite to hunt them. I have been invited to one of these great hunting matches. The hunters divided into pairs, many of which killed thirty or forty squirrels; but had they not had a partner, they would scarcely have killed one, because these cunning little creatures lay themselves along the trunk of the tree which they have climbed, and turn about so dexterously, as always to keep the tree between them and the hunter. A dinner was provided for us in the wood, and upwards of sixty poor squgs were roasted:

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roasted and delicate white meat they are, and eat better roasted than any other mode of cooking

them.

Sincerely hoping you may never have a worse dinner than a roasted squirrel, I put an end to this long epistle, which I hope will afford you and my sisters some amusement.

ARTHUR MIDDLETON.

LETTER XIX.

Mr. H. Franklin to Edwin Middleton.

MY DEAR EDWIN,

Knoxville.

AS I know your desire of enriching your mind with useful knowledge, I endeavour to colJect such information as shall add to your stock, and at the same time afford you some amusement.

The state of Tenessee, part of which we crossed in our way hither, had no white settlements in it before the year 1780, nor did the emigrants fix there in considerable numbers till nine years afterwards. The Cherokees harrassed them on all occasions, and obliged them to carry on a fierce war, till, overcome by superior force, they were compelled to yield to a peace, and confine themselves

to

to the southward of this province, which lies between their territories and the new state of Ken

tucky.

Before this country was admitted into the Union, it formed a part of North Carolina. Its two principal rivers are the Cumberland and the Tenessee, which are separated by the Cumberland Mountains, and both fall into the Ohio. The Cumberland Ridge runs obliquely through the state, and divides it into two parts, distinguished by the names of East and West Tenessee. The district on the western side of the mountains, is twice as large as that on the other, and is very fertile, as appears from the vast size of the trees. Most of the smaller rivers lose their waters in the Cumberland, and are nearly dry in summer, which, it is feared, will cause a scarcity of water, when the country shall become more populous. The people may, however, find a resource in the large brooks, or creeks, that are never dry, which issue in many places from deep caverns at the bottom of the low hills. As the water rushes from its subterraneous bed, it is sometimes attended by a current of air so strong, that I have seen it extinguish a light.

The mildness of the climate, fertility of the soil, and the certainty of acquiring a comfortable subsistence, draw multitudes of emigrants from the old states hither.

Cotton is the staple commodity by which they enrich themselves. Those who have no negroes cultivate

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cultivate it with the plough, taking care to keep it well weeded and hoed; but if they can afford to purchase slaves, it is planted on parallel ridges, twelve or fifteen feet high, made with the hoe. Spinning the cotton employs the women and children. I one day stopped at a house to get a draught of milk, where the mistress had just received a prize of ten piastres from the legislature of the state, for producing the best piece of manufactured cotton. The wealthy encourage this rivalship amongst the women, by wearing calicoes made in the country.

Those emigrants who are not able to purchase lands, hire them for eight or ten bushels of maize, for every acre they clear; and, by their bargain, they are obliged to build a log-house on the farm.

Many churches are not yet built in Tenessee: to supply the deficiency, it is common for the people to meet in the woods of a Sunday, to hear a discourse from some itinerant preacher.

East Tenessee lies between the highest part of the Allegany and the Cumberland Mountains, and is watered by a great number of small rivers, that descend from them, and cross it in all directions. It is a hilly country, and not very fertile, and produces, principally, pines and oaks of different species; one of these is called the over-cup white oak, the acorns of which are as large as an egg.

Maize, or Indian corn, is much cultivated here, but it does not grow to such perfection as on the

western

western side of the mountains, where it reaches to the height of eleven feet; and the ears are often nine or ten inches long, and thick in proportion. Numerous herds of cattle are reared by the farmers, who send them four or five hundred miles to the towns on the sea coast. Though these animals are very wild, from living in the woods, and have a number of rivers to cross, and uncultivated forests to traverse, yet very few of them are lost in the journey.

Not being satisfied with the general account I had received of East Tenessee, I determined to direct our course that way. We advanced through beautiful forests, and were frequently entertained by the owners of plantations, thickly scattered on the borders of the road, though always sequestered in the midst of woods. The inhabitants live in good log houses; most of them are assisted by negroes, and enjoy plenty with content.

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We observed a stone house belonging to General Winchester, much superior in elegance to most of the dwellings in the country. In order to finish it completely, carpenters were had from Baltimore, at near seven hundred miles distance. We halted at Fort Blount, which was erected to defend the first emigrants against the Indians, who opposed their settlement; but being no longer necessary, the fortification are destroyed. Roaring Ri ver, one of the branches of the Cumberland, receives its name from the confused noise occasioned

by